The Night Never Ends
by Seena58
Summary: It was just a simple task to collect information on a village where everyone had died, cursed with the blood of innocents. Secrets were buried... and never should have been revealed... [DaiSato and DarkKrad, AU]
1. Prologue: Curse of the Souls

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Prologue: Curse of the Souls ---

Endless tales of destruction and pain weaved the night sky, where tendrils of mist seemed to slowly slither across and around, gently wrapping themselves around any solid objects that would never move again. The wailing of the night's breeze shook the silence in the land, chilling the bones of those who dared to approach, where there laid something and yet nothing. Clothes and children's toys were thrown haphazardly on the footpaths and streets, yet there were no voices to be heard; no parents whispering, merchants auctioning or gamblers gambling. No voices from the living.

The village was dead.

Not a single living soul remained in the dilapidated ruins of a once living and joyful place: shutters swung lazily with the breeze and the remains of residents scattered across the dusty paths and within the very homes. Dust had settled over all those blessed to never move again, and the prey of those who had remained was never to be seen again. Something was amiss, in the end, and the chill of the night could not dispel that; no matter how grave a place looked, or how distraught it may had been, or the mere fact that the bones scattered were that of a family or couple, the back of the mind insisted that there was a lot more than expected. That something was going to happen and that no one could do a thing about it until it was too late.

And yet, no one lived. If it were not for the tales of shaken travelers or mercenaries, then the village may have never been discovered. Rediscovered, in reality, seeing as it had once been a place occupied with many who lived life with joy and happiness that could not be matched. No matter what, they had been content with what they had had; and they were dead.

It had happened unexpectedly; no one had seen it coming at all. No one could have thought that something – or someone – would attack and kill all those who lived life peacefully, hand in hand with nature. Fools, perhaps, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

Unexpected deaths became incredibly frequent.

People used to scoff at that; stating that only idiots would believe of such a case where some perfectly healthy person suddenly plunges to a doom that they never deserved. And yet, as more and more people ran away from their homes, claiming it so before falling dead too, fear spread out in panic. Admittedly, the closest village to that one was so far away the people may had died from fatigue, but chances were not to be taken. No one wanted to be involved with them and help them; they cared about their own lives too much to place it on the line for others.

And yet, that was not the end of it.

Death by the hands of mortals had been on the land once more. Not just a small handful of mortals, though, but an entire army; slashing, ripping, killing. They did more than that, true, but it was too horrid to recall, too much to place into the minds of the innocents. Many had died that night, and no one was ever there to tell the tale again.

Whispered nothings were all that was left; the remains of a once beautiful and peaceful village, where none dared to place a foot upon. Its beauty was soaked in the blood of those who had resided on it, and there was nothing that could have been done about it. Bittersweet tears of the souls that had lost their lives was what filled the river close by, and the moans and wails of those killed remained as they wandered around familiar paths they would never cross alive again.

Voices that would never be heard of again; no one there alive, to tell the tale.

The tendrils of mist that was unnatural threaded their way around, with no real objection as to where they were to go, and what was to be done. Otherworldly, perhaps, and with the only reason of their being there due to the deaths of innocents. Sent there to watch over the poor people who had done nothing and received death; their blood staining the land forever. Nothing would change it now, and no one was ever going to attempt to do so. No one wanted to hear their tale; one that was too gruesome to acknowledge; and for that, they remained alone, wandering, and lost in despair.

Crying and wailing voices carried by the breeze. Nothing was left and the beauty was all but dust. And they were trapped here, the very place they died, and relived all that was not to be. To recall their own deaths without hope of ever escaping them; cursing those who had hurt them in the first place and took away their happiness.

Everything was dead; including the trees and grass that used to surround them. The only living plant that remained were the blood red petals of a flower; petals that were plucked with the wailing breeze and swept through the town with reason that could not be explained.

The moon hung over the sky, suspended, the clouds scare, and the stars almost too dim to be seen. Not that it mattered, seeing as there was no one around to gaze upon it.

It was always night in the village.

The people who lived forever wandered during the night, when the moon was up.

A blood red moon was what watched over them, constantly.

That was the curse of the souls.

---

And so is the prologue. The characters are obviously going to be in the next chapter, so look forward to it! And yes, it is gothic-medieval based like, and no, I did no research whatsoever, if anyone decides to wonder. Came after thinking about Koudelka and the Resident Evil series so… why not? It won't hurt anyone…

And yes, I know that I should be finishing other stories, but I'm too lazy. Suppose it doesn't matter, though, does it?

Comments? Questions? Ideas? They're all appreciated, so thanks!


	2. Chapter One: Life

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter One: Life ---

Pulling a thick and heavy volume from under his desk, the person frowned thoughtfully before flipping it open and studying the distinct scribbling of a scribe who just couldn't write legibly. It wasn't very useful then, seeing as they couldn't even read it, but if studied for many hours on end, it was actually quite possible to make out a word or two.

And that was how Satoshi Hiwatari was spending his day.

Sapphire eyes behind glasses, cerulean hair that looked a bit windswept although the only window in the room was closed, the fourteen-year-old boy scanned the unreadable text. He read with such intensity that he didn't even seem to hear something heavy smash into the door of the very room in which he sat at; having locked himself in so that he wouldn't be disturbed. Voices floated back and forth as children played games outside on the streets and the like, with the occasional yell of someone older telling them off for getting in the way.

It was a bright day with a scattering of clouds, and it was quite breezy, yet not too cold. Cobblestone streets were the main construction for footpaths and roads, as people hurried back and forth like as any other day. Shawls and hats were tugged at almost playfully by the occasional breeze, and they tried to ignore it all, carrying on their daily tasks which were too boring to mention.

And during all this, Satoshi didn't pay the least attention to any of it, as he continued to try and make out a particularly small scribble that might have meant something but most likely didn't. It was little wonder, after every single day of reading such small and squashed texts, that he had to wear glasses. He wasn't complaining or anything, and he was so good looking that girls thought it really suit him, but he paid them little attention as well. Being popular wasn't in his wish list, and it never would be, so that was yet another reason that he locked himself in the house and small room: if just to avoid the rabid fangirls and the like; he didn't even find the opposite sex attractive anymore. It had to be because of them for sure. He might as well be dead if he'd been forced to go out with them or something just as bad; a heart attack, for one thing.

If it hadn't been for a certain someone, he would have probably cracked under the pressure and massacred everyone; or, to a more tame degree, locked himself in the house and never come out ever again because it was too painful; not that he wasn't pale-skinned enough.

Continuing his reading, the blue-haired boy ignored all the calls of his parents to go outside or to at least open a window, but his head snapped up instantly as the very sound of a light tap hit the solid oak of the door. Only one person he knew ever knocked like that – as if afraid that they were disturbing someone – and he clambered stiffly out of his seat to open the door; he had been sitting there for over four hours, of course. Without a hint of hesitation, he pulled it open.

Ignoring the scowling face of his mother who stood in the background, Satoshi nodded politely at the guest in front of him. A boy his own age with ruby eyes and unruly crimson locks nodded back, a small smile tugging at his lips. This irritated the blue-haired boy, to say the least, but not in the way that he wanted him to throw stuff at the annoying fangirls who came to his house every few hours; no, it was more of an irritation of knowing that the boy in front of him knew him more then even his own parents and he was incredibly happy about it like that. Then again, it wasn't actually irritation; affection was a better term to put it.

And he was rambling to himself again, so he pulled the redhead in and closed the door in his mother's face, who had raised an eyebrow but said nothing. They rarely exchanged words with one another; but it might have been because Satoshi was too intelligent for his own good and… well… it just didn't seem to work out. But they didn't hate each other; it was just a very, very, very detached amount of affection that flowed in the Hiwatari household.

But he forgot all that as he turned his attention back to his guest, who was smiling at him softly, having opening the closed window. The voices outside had become more distinct and he could identify them all easily, but that wasn't the point.

Despite the fact that the blue-haired boy was staring at him with such an intensity that was alarming, the redhead seemed incredibly relaxed, "You know that you're going to go blind if you keep on studying texts with words that don't make words," he chided lightly, "And did you forget that I was coming over or something?"

Satoshi shook his head, "How could I forget? But this is the only place that I can get some peace and quiet from the rest of the world."

The redhead feigned surprise, "You mean that you can't even get any peace in your own room?"

"Must we go through that?" the blue-haired boy rolled his eyes in mock despair before approaching the boy by the window. It was a rather small room, and was made even more cramped due to the bookcases, desk and chair and books that made up at least three-quarters of the place. Wrapping his arms around the boy's waist, he hugged him, "And besides, if I wanted to avoid people, I'd have to jump out of a third-storey window, Daisuke."

Laughing lightly, Satoshi's boyfriend hugged him back, "Well, it's not everyday you get a chance to see a member of the high and aristocratic Hiwatari family's mangled corpse on the back lawn," he commented. Then he grimaced lightly, studying the other boy's face, "But then I'd feel sorry for you because think of your admirers' reactions…"

Satoshi grimaced at the thought before shutting up the redhead by closing the gap between them for a moment. When they eventually pulled away, he glared thinly at the shorter boy in front of him warningly, "Never EVER mention those people who stalk me ever again…"

Daisuke smiled apologetically, seeing as they were still embracing each other, "Naa… sorry, Satoshi, but you can't hide in your house all day…"

"I do go out!" the glare was replaced by an indignant-hurt look which was quite rare for anyone to see because of his usual lack of emotion when around other people; except when he was around Daisuke, which was a completely different story in the matter.

"But not without me around!"

"But when you're not around, they stalk me and crowd me and god knows what else they would plan to do if you weren't around at all!"

"Does that make me your knight in shining armor?"

Shaking his head in silent laughter, although looking rather fed-up, Satoshi pinched his boyfriend's cheek lightly, "Let's not go into that argument again."

Pouting at the treatment of being inferior in the relationship – which was the truth, but neither one of them cared – Daisuke was soon over it and proceeded in trying to drag the blue-haired boy out of the room, but he refused bluntly.

Ever since they had begun to go out – approximately four months and a scattered number of weeks – the redhead had attempted to get Satoshi to be a bit more sociable, or at least capable of walking around the town-village-city-like place without being scared that he was being attacked. The problem was, he was always stalked by the scariest of fangirls and he never went outside unless he was with either Daisuke or with one of his other few friends. And there weren't many of them around, so it was usually the redhead's task to attempt to get him to walk around like a normal person.

"Why must you make it so hard for everyone, including yourself?" whined the redhead piteously, sniffling slightly as he tugged at Satoshi's arm. He got a fed up sigh in return and continued to try and wrench the taller boy out of the room without much success.

"You really should calm down once in a while, Daisuke," Satoshi muttered, watching impassively as the redhead failed to move him a bit. Then, grinning slightly, he jerked his arm back and Daisuke, with a surprised squeak, was jerked back into his arms again. "And you know that you have to pay me back tonight if I go outside."

The redhead blushed, but tried to cover it up as he spluttered, "D-d-don't start talking like that! It reminds me of Dark too much and then he's going to tell me 'told you so'! That's the last thing that I need to hear!"

Shaking his head, the blue-haired boy attempted to look offended as he poked the redhead in the ribs lightly, "Since when have you compared me to that pervert, hm? And when I mean by paying back, I'm referring to that stupid exorcism that failed a week back. They want me to complete it, but I need a healer otherwise I might as well be dead."

Daisuke inclined his head, "Oh… _that _one."

Having gotten over that little argument, the two left the room and out of the house, where most children seemed to be. Adults in expensive and elaborate clothing flounced around them, in an almost huffy manner that seemed to say that they couldn't believe the younger generation these days. The streets were lined with the familiar bulk of cobblestones that made up the road and footpaths, while horses and carriages bumped their way across. A few trees lined the street, but as it was the higher-society-like place, the buildings were also built with lavish designs and with and the like, with the tiny gardens that had very little flowers, or dead, seeing as they never took care of it. It was either take care of the gardens themselves, or hire something; so it was a lose-lose situation for them.

Weaving past a couple of kids that were playing a sort of soldier-battle-to-war game, both Satoshi and Daisuke made their way down the street. This was where the bulk of society sat; as well as the shops and stalls that proved a lot more interesting then just trying to ignore the sounds of people trying to blow the place up.

Perhaps the strangest part about the two boy's relationship was that Satoshi was of an aristocratic family, while Daisuke had been of a lower class. The Hiwatari family couldn't believe that their oldest son could even end up like that, and had even attempted to send him to a psychiatrist, but that hadn't changed a thing and he kept hanging around the redhead whenever possible. They had then been forced to accept it, and admit to the fact that at least he went outside once in a while. The Niwa family, on the other hand, found that as long as they got along fine in the end, there was no problem with the matter, and who was going to complain?

Both boys wore plain clothes, with no elaborate or ornate designs as they walked past a couple of people their own age as they entered the business-district-like-place that was always crowded, no matter what. Daisuke, being who he was, instantly rushed to look at the items on sale with Satoshi in tow, not as interested. If anything, he was more interested at staring at the redhead than anything else. There were only two things that truly caught his attention other than his boyfriend; and that was old books explaining supernatural occurrences with magic and art.

Daisuke, knowing this, dragged him to a cult-like-wiccan-gothic-related shop which was always filled with items and the like that helped with magic and anything similar. In this point of time and life, after all the eerie tales that they'd heard, people being able to use magic wasn't all that of a problem anymore. Then again, very few people were actually capable of using it and most people boasting about it couldn't even heal a paper cut.

As a descendent of the Niwa clan, it was a lot easier to believe that the redhead might have inherited some of his family's magic-capabilities, and although they had been healers all these generations, Daisuke seemed to be more talented in the offensive side of spells. 'Black' magic, as people had claimed, but no one cared unless the person actually did something that hurt others.

Satoshi, on the other hand, had been born in a family that hadn't been able to use magic at all, and yet he'd been blessed with a special branch similar to the 'elements'. Not much was known about the branch, and people didn't seem to want to know, but the Niwa family had been more than willing to help him while he learnt to control his magic.

The shop was decorated with dark colours ranging from purple to red and black, with shelves that were stacked with various books and object in jars. Inside the jars were various roots and components used when people wanted to use magic but weren't naturally talented. Tarot cards sat in decks, while jewelry glittered in the dim light that was being emitted from a number of lamps that hung by overhead. It looked stuffy, yet didn't feel nor smell it, and the boys were greeted by a silver-haired female a couple of years older than them. Her clothes were all black and her hair was cropped, along with three earrings adorning each ear and she smiled at them cheerfully.

"Hi! Welcome and all that!" she chirped excitedly, "Dai-chan! Sato-chan! Glad to see you again!" Without warning, she hugged them both and then pouted, "Why'd it take you two so long to get back here? I mean, you're the only people I'd even consider selling stuff to!"

"Towa! What's going on?" roared a distant voice in the back. The girl sniffed, more to herself, and then grinned back at the two. "Well, take your time and all. I'll be at back if you need any help."

"Well, we might not be buying anything--" began Daisuke, but Towa waved it off impatiently.

"Doesn't matter. Like I said, you two are the only ones worth me working here. All the others who come here believe they're from the Legion of the Undead," she grimaced disdainfully at this and then waved to them before disappearing further into the shop.

As they entered deeper into the small-looking shop, they were greeted by more shelves, books, and items. It was actually quite interesting to look at, for one thing, and highly useful if one knew how to use them and cast spells. But even if a complete stranger who didn't use magic entered, it was still highly interesting to stare at all the trinkets, which were solved nowhere else because other shops just refused to stock them.

Wandering around the shelves, Daisuke's eyes seemed to gleam in wonder and fascination, while Satoshi frowned thoughtfully at a strange device that whirled softly, like there was a small machine in it or something. Poking it cautiously, nothing happened and he called the redhead over.

"Yeah?" asked the shorter boy cheerfully, bouncing over.

"Do you know what this is?" asked the blue-haired boy, waving at the small box with minute details that he couldn't make out. Peering at the item for a moment, the Niwa shook his head slightly, and straightened up.

"An _animus prehendo_?" he finally decided to say, more to himself than the boy next to him. "Soul Snatcher," he translated simply to the perplexed look Satoshi shot him. "But why would they have one of these here in the first place? It doesn't work like that…"

Seeing that the redhead was talking more to himself, the blue-haired boy tapped him back into reality. Daisuke smiled apologetically before explaining it to his magic-deprived friend, "A soul snatcher does exactly as the name tells us. It can trap a soul within that little box and only the wielder can release it; or if it breaks or something similar. But it only works on the dead souls that wander around this world," he added thoughtfully, "And we have none here… so why would they be trying to sell it in the first place?"

With a sigh, Satoshi shook his head, "Sometimes I'm scared of what you know. Remember your theory about the guillotine and the revolution?"

The redhead nodded, grinning at this, "We ended up sharing the same bed for a month after that, and that was before we started going out."

"And I never forgave you about that," he added firmly, ruffling the boy's hair before they returned to their inspection of the random items. Most things they'd seen before, yet there were a number of items that had just come in and were quite interesting to stare at for long periods of time.

And yet the small box that Satoshi had come across wouldn't leave his mind and, eventually, he just gave up and decided to buy it. True, Daisuke would be baffled as to why he would buy such a useless item, but he wouldn't go against the action at all. If it was a ceremonial-sacrificial knife or something, on the other hand…

"Do you think learning a spell that freezes time could really work?" asked the redhead when they finally left the small shop. The daylight stung their eyes after being in such a dim place, and Daisuke was still confused to his boyfriend's purchase, but couldn't bother to ask about it or otherwise. Satoshi inclined his head, frowning.

"I don't know… would it?"

Frowning in thought, Daisuke took his time before answering, "We—ll… I suppose it is possible, but I don't know why anyone would think of using it at all."

Tucking the small box away as they walked down a street to a less crowded place, Satoshi could only blink ignorantly, "Why?"

"It involves sacrifice," the redhead shrugged, "I mean, a lot of it. Blood from innocent people. And why? I don't get it sometimes. Why people want to kill others just for one spell that freezes time forever. It's so sad…"

"And where did you read this?"

"I came across it while reading this old text, asked my parents, who freaked, and then I went to that shop for research about a week ago. I suppose the biggest problem is that I don't know any other magicians around to ask for their opinion," he shuddered, "and I would hate to talk to someone who would even consider using it."

Wrapping an arm around the redhead's shoulder, the blue-haired pulled his close for reassurance, "It's just a spell, Daisuke. You shouldn't think too much about it."

"Right…"

Upon entering the small, homely street of where Daisuke lived, they were flocked by a number of small children that the redhead knew, and by the time they got around that lot, the redhead was practically tackled by a figure with long brown hair. In right fangirl-style, she squealed excitedly and giggled, practically choking the Niwa with her death-grip around his neck.

"Dai-chan! So that's where you went!" she exclaimed.

"Risa-chan…" spluttered the redhead, as he attempted to pry her off, "Must you do that every time I see you? I'm going to be oxygen deprived one day…"

"Oh, cheer up already!" she said, pinching him in the cheek playfully before turning her attention towards Satoshi, who was watching the scene with an passive expression on his face, "Hi, Satoshi-kun! How're you today?"

"I'm fine," he replied calmly, "And I think you should let go before Daisuke dies."

"Right," nodding, Risa obliged and then grabbed the two boys by their wrists, "Come on! Come on! We can't be late for this!"

Daisuke blinked blankly, "What? What's going on? Did I miss something at home?"

Giggling, the brunette shook her head, "Come on! It's a surprise and I can't tell you! Now let's get a move on!"

With a sigh, the two boys allowed themselves to be dragged off to who knew where and for what reason, they were about to find out. Besides, knowing the girl, she wasn't going to push them into a pit of hungry wolves. But then again… it was possible.

---

Okay, if there is anyone here who is NOT lost and confused, I will be vaguely surprised. Or something similar to that sort of thing, but whatever. First chapter that introduced two of the four main characters (if you haven't worked that out yet) with some research done in the life at… that… time… Or something. I don't know anymore. Anyway, I was planning to put Dark and Krad as well into this chapter, but it just ended up too long and… yeah. Next chapter, though, I promise.

Risa is sugar-high/hyperactive, don't you think? I mean… geez, how did I end up with this? Although Risa was supposed to be the main character for this fic… but then changed in about a split second to the four guys… but she does have a key role in this. Later XD

What else is there to say? Well, Satoshi is being swamped by fangirls, Daisuke is he boyfriend, they've only been going out recently, Dark and Krad are NOT RELATED to them in any way; magic isn't all that rare where they live and they don't have witch burnings and… er… it's all a bit jumbled. And as for Daisuke's theory behind the guillotine and the French revolution… it's up to you about what he told Sato :P

Can't think of much else to say, but if you have any questions, I'll attempt to answer them.

Reviewer Replies:

Hakudoshi-chan: You think? XD The idea's still a little out of whack, though…

neko-nya: Zombie clowns and mime? Great, how do I incorporate them into the story! XD such evil beings wander the earth… Thanks!

nekogirltheanimefreak: Eheh… thanks a lot!

O.o K-chan: Maybe I was… unclear? Or I babbled on; again. Thanks!


	3. Chapter Two: Meet

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Two: Meet ---

Being dragged down the street hadn't exactly been on the redhead's 'things to do' list, but he couldn't do anything as the brunette kept a firm hold of his wrist the whole way. They had crossed through the town itself and had entered the open plains where the farming was maintained, and most of the people waved at the three teens as they passed by the single, unpaved road that led back to the separate farmlands and the like.

This was where Daisuke's family was situated; living life simply in the farmhouse and blowing up random parts of their home while they were at it. Well, that had been the case for a while until the redhead had finally learnt how to maintain his magic capabilities. On the whole, it looked like a shack with added rooms and the like, and their neighbors – many who didn't seem to have children at the point and time – had fawned over Daisuke the moment he was born and incinerating walls by accident. Once he had learnt to control that, however, everyone seemed to love him more, but the fact remained that he was an only child, and that made life boring for him.

Moving towards more recent years, he had decided to take the long trek into the village/town and since then, continued to go there when he was free from work. He had made a number of friends – Satoshi turning out to be the closest, obviously – who found his lower status in life either funny or not even worth the time to waste precious brain cells.

Turning his head, the redhead couldn't help but smile slightly at Satoshi, who was frowning and trying to wrench his arm free. How they became friends had been the most bizarre of situations, and at first, the blue-haired boy hadn't even wanted to talk to him. Just leave it to Dark to pull a number of life-threatening pranks and it was settled for like that he would need to be under Daisuke's protection if he didn't want to die.

It had been reluctant, admittedly, and very awkward, but the Niwa had never been one to just sit there and accept that the boy standing next to him seemed to have a pole shoved up his ass (as Dark so affectionately put it) and never talked to anyone; nor left the house, or did anything remotely interesting. Spending more time with him had proved that there was more to Satoshi than it first seemed, yet the constant stream of squealing, giggling girls that used to stalk them all the time had been very unsettling. That turned out to be the aristocratic boy's worst fear of coming outside, but the redhead soon found a way to deal with it.

"Could you let go already?"

Jerked out of his reminiscing, Daisuke focused back on the blue-haired boy, who was frowning pointedly at Risa, who just laughed lightly and continued to drag them to who really knew where. It wasn't like they had never seen the farmlands – Niwa living there and Hiwatari visiting once in a while to get away from the crowds – and aside from the odd cow, pasture, sheep or field, it didn't look like anything in particular had changed.

"Oh, cheer up once in a while, Satoshi," she told him, not looking back. Her simple woolen-fabric dress swirled around as she speeded up considerably, which was actually quite surprising that she hadn't tripped yet, and it's dark brown tone pretty much erased the dust that was hanging onto the frayed edges of it. "It doesn't hurt to laugh and smile once in a while."

Satoshi replied in a low voice, teeth gritted, "And it wouldn't hurt if you weren't cutting the circulation off of my wrist. I need to use that hand, you know."

"Well, not far now," trilled Risa, ignoring him.

Rolling his eyes, Satoshi gave Daisuke a blank look that read 'save me' or 'will she always be this hyperactive?' and the redhead couldn't help but grin. Risa: the brown haired, fourteen-year-old girl with a personality that changed so rapidly that it was scary sometimes. A kind and considerate person who listened to other's problems, yet complained about her own problems almost all the time. It was odd, but she was a nice enough person most of the time. At others, well, that was something that no stranger wanted to witness within their life.

She was a very strange case, honestly. The Harada family had been a high ranking social ladder type of people, but – for one reason or another – they had all fallen ill to one disease or another, and Risa had been the only one recorded to have survived. This had been many years ago, and she seemed to have gotten over it, but no one ever did find out what had happened to her twin sister…

Having been adopted into the Niwa family, she got along with them quite well and seemed to have gotten used to the simple life that they led. But that didn't stop her from being scarily cheerful and hyperactive at times, thanks to Daisuke's mother, so she could be quite trying on the nerves from time to time.

Reaching the Niwa household, Risa finally let go of the two boys, who backed of slowly, rubbing their wrists in the process. Pushing the door open, she beckoned them to come in, all the while bouncing on the soles of her feet. When they didn't move straight away, she pouted and pulled them in, ignoring their protests to such ill treatment on her part.

"Risa-chan… you have to learn to stop hurting others when you're excited…" muttered the redhead, having nearly cannoned into the opposite side of the wall. Looking around the tiny box-shaped room, he frowned, "And it doesn't look any different…"

"…" Rubbing his face and glaring at the happy-go-lucky girl in front of him, Satoshi looked around as well. Simple living called for very few possessions and it definitely wasn't like his own home; yet it had the warm feeling of being welcomed into the place and just had that… family vibe to it. He couldn't put it in any other way. Maybe that was the reason he got along so well with Daisuke and the rest of the Niwa family, unlike the other of his exact social status; they didn't care about who was superior or inferior in the end, as long as they were happy. They were the type of people that didn't need a lot of possessions and did all the hard work themselves while accepting their lifestyle and enjoying it to the fullest.

As these thoughts processed through his head, a voice floated over to the three as Daisuke berated Risa for dragging them back home for no reason.

"How could you say that it doesn't look any different?"

"Da… rk…?" the redhead blinked and Risa's smile widened. The blue-haired boy raised a brow in question, but then again, there was no one else any of them knew that had that sort of voice… something close to constantly sounding sarcastic, mocking and insulting almost all the time. Forgetting about telling the brunette off, Daisuke rushed through the small main room and came face-to-face with the seventeen year old, who was smirking. "Dammit! You said that you'd be here in a week from now!"

"Well, I lied," came the smooth reply as Dark took a seat and began to brush the dirt off the cloak he was wearing. His dark violet mop of hair was as unruly as ever and the clear, amethyst eyes analysed the room they were in slowly, "And it doesn't look like this place has changed either, has it?"

"If I had known you were going to be here," commented Satoshi lightly as he entered the room with a giggling Risa, "I would have stayed at home."

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," slapping his forehead and sticking a tongue out at the blue-haired boy, the older teen turned to confront the redhead, who was now glaring at him for lying, "So when did you two get together again and how far have you gone in the relationship?"

"This is not the time to be asking that!" Daisuke grumbled, stalking over to poke Dark in the chest, "And I can't believe that you lied to be like that!"

"Trust me; you soon learn to never listen to anything he says," another voice commented lightly as a blonde entered and hit the violet-haired teen over the head with the barrel of a handgun he was holding onto. Dark frowned and stuck his tongue out at this, but didn't say anything, "He told ME that we were going to be back here in a month, so honestly…"

"And you believe me, didn't you, Krad!"

"And I shot a bullet up your--"

"Okay, that's quite enough information!" cut in Risa loudly, before the sentence could be finished by the blonde, who glared at the purple-haired teen sitting down. Dark, in response, glared back but they stopped arguing to return to the present. Shaking her head, the brunette took a seat on the other side of the room; as did the other two, while the blonde stood by the window and continued to glare daggers at Dark.

"So what have you been doing for these past two years anyway?" asked Daisuke as he noticed the tension between the two older teens increase with each passing second. Knowing the blonde, gun still in hand, he would have to shoot something. And knowing Dark well enough, he would be the main target in the end.

"Where to begin… where to begin…" mused Dark thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling, as if hoping for a sudden rush in inspiration. "So much has happened over that little space of time, you know…" This got him another slap over the head and Krad crossed his arms.

"To put it simply: we left, we travelled, we came back," he snapped sharply, shooting Dark a warning look that read 'add anything else and I will personally make your life a living hell', "And THAT idiot there was stupid enough to cause trouble all the way."

"I thought so," muttered Satoshi under his breath, and the purple-haired teen frowned before turning around to set up an argument with the blonde.

"Hey, you were the one who was supposed to make sure that I didn't do anything stupid, weren't you? That means that it's as much as your fault as it was mine!" he proclaimed, "And since you're also the one who agreed to my plans, I don't see why you complain so much about it now--"

Krad rolled his eyes and looked around, ignoring what the other was saying, "Sometimes I wonder why I stay with you…"

"That's right," chirped Risa happily, "There are so many girls who are your type, Krad-kun. You could just dump Dark-kun and then it would be all over." She was merely stating this out of goodwill between the two boys, and the fact that they were even going out in the first place would have seemed so absurd that they expected to be proven otherwise. In truth, Dark was more of an older brother to her – like Daisuke – and Krad wasn't exactly what she stated as 'her type', so anything she said before and after never meant too much from her point of view. "I mean, you really are quite popular with the other ladies out there, Krad-kun, and I'm sure there's someone out there that you'll truly fall in love wi--"

Dark rushed over and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, "Now, now, let's not give the high and almighty blonde some ideas in his head already."

"What would you do if I dumped you, anyway?" Krad asked, raising one eyebrow as he waited for the reaction to come.

"What! You can't do that!"

"Who says I can't? Neither one of my parents were too happy when they found out, remember," the blonde waved a finger in mock-severity, "And I'm sure that they would be much happier if their son was to become straight again."

"Oh, shut up," stalking over to his boyfriend, Dark grabbed him by the collar of the plain shirt the blonde was wearing and began to shake him hard. "Besides, I was the one who got you out of that place in the first place and you can't just abandon me like that. And I have no intention on going back to what my parents have been doing for a living and you know it!"

"In all honestly, being a peddler might be a better occupation for you than an art thief," Krad retorted sharply before he proceeded upon trying to loosen the grip on his shirt collar. The problem with that was that Dark seemed to have a death grip on it and absolutely refused to let go.

Daisuke rolled his eyes before exchanging knowing glances at both Risa and Satoshi, who nodded back in sad understanding. How their relationship had lasted for so long, they had no idea; and for all good reason.

The two were from completely different social classes, and, in reality, they shouldn't have even known each other; the hell with it, Krad would have probably only seen Satoshi a couple of times, but should have never come across either Daisuke or Dark. But that was the biggest problem with being the son of a feudal lord of the land, and it really had put the blonde off from taking over the 'family job'.

Them meeting had been strange; Dark knowing Daisuke, Daisuke getting to know Satoshi, who in turn got pissed off by Dark, and then Krad just trying to get out of the house once in a while meeting up with them and… well, it had been quite chaotic; but it had worked out in the end. Risa didn't hand out with them – having her own group of friends – but they seemed to get along really well from time to time, but it didn't make any sense as to why the blonde hadn't been locked up in his room yet for 'dallying' around with a peddler's son, which Dark was. But he had taken the life up as an art thief of sorts, causing more chaos than necessary, and they got along great. At least they did after the first time Krad was trying to shoot a bullet into Dark. It hadn't been a pleasant first meeting; that was for sure.

But now Dark and Krad were going out – much to the Hikari family's displeasure (only one short of disowning him) – for the past three years and they traveled around a lot, which was the reason as to why Daisuke had been asking in the first place. Even when they argued – and fought, and attempted to kill each other – they always made up in the end, and that in itself was very scary. A bit too scary for its own good, but they really did seem right for each other, so no one could complain.

"Dark-kun, you really should let Krad-kun go," Risa finally stepped in with a sigh, "Otherwise he's going to choke and die and then you won't have a boyfriend who actually understands why you have so many mental problems."

Letting go, the older teen frowned at the brunette, "Since when have I had a mental problem?" he asked curiously.

"Since the time your ego got just a little too big for you," Satoshi answered for him.

"Why you--"

Dark would have throttled the blue-haired aristocratic teen, but Daisuke, who had stepped out of the room for a minute, came back and pointed a warning finger in his direction, "Not in this house you won't, Dark." When the purple-haired teen tried to push past him, the redhead sighed and held up something he'd been holding with his other hand and Dark, recognizing it, backed away slowly; apprehensively.

"You STILL have that?" he grumbled.

Waving the scythe under the older teen's nose, the blade coming inches close to his nose, the Niwa nodded thoughtfully, "I LIVE here, you know. And I do work on the farm grounds once in a while, as we all do." Yet they all knew that the farming tool backed up as a weapon for the redhead, although he never was one for bloodshed.

"Thank god that he doesn't possess a gun, then," muttered Dark, more to himself as he continued to edge away until he was hiding behind Krad, "When did he become to violent and evil, anyway? Not like the happy, innocent, naïve kid I once knew!"

"Yeah, and you're still the same jerk," the blonde replied calmly, not caring that he was the only thing that was saving his boyfriend from having his head being decapitated, "And if I recall, you used to get him in trouble all the time. The fact that he has more backbone than you might mean something very important."

"Must we go into that argument again!"

"Yes, we do!"

As the bickering started all over again, the younger three left the room; unable to take it anymore. True, when they weren't arguing they got along all fine and dandy, but arguing like a married couple was just too much for them to take. Daisuke replaced the scythe in his room, in which Satoshi gave him a questioning look.

Risa answered the unsaid question, "We all found out long ago that Dark-kun has always been a little paranoid about sharp weapons that could be used at a distance, so when he gets too annoying or out of hand…"

"And I do use it for work at home," the redhead added helpfully. "When I'm not teaching myself or attempting a new spell. Some of the items you can't get unless you travel around, though, so that's not all that great."

"But you trade with them all the time," Satoshi pointed out, "That I know."

Daisuke nodded, "But some of these items are the sort that you can't trade. I mean, they're very rare to find by accident, so sometimes you have to find them yourself, or trade with other magicians. It's all very complicated once in a while."

Understanding, finally, Satoshi nodded calmly. They piled outside silently, watching the large grounds of farmland around them. It was blissfully serene and quite peaceful-looking, which reflected off the fact that it took a lot of work and manual labor to get the fields and the like in place. Lumbering around, cows and sheep grazed far away, not doing much, while people worked back and forth, calling faintly to one another as they worked.

"So what's the mission that we have to go through this time?"

"Some other aristocratic family thinks that they're son is possessed," shrugged the blue-haired boy, "And the last people who attempted to do it ran away screaming, as my sources tell me. It's all a bit out of place, but we can get the details at office."

"Aah… I see…"

"Possessed? Probably just a fit," commented Risa lightly. "I mean, it's been going around, hasn't it? And I don't get why they can't just deal with it themselves…"

"Because they can't?" cut in Daisuke.

Smiling, the brunette clung onto his arm, "Aw… you're so considerate to others all the time, Dai-chan! That's why everyone loves you so much!"

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "Uh… huh…" he looked over to Satoshi helplessly at the girl's rather scary mood-swing, who sighed in return. "Risa-chan, you can let go now, you know…"

"I know," replied Risa happily, "But it's fun to cling onto you! I mean, I'm really, really, really glad that I live with you and your family and you're the best things in my life!" Hugging him around the neck, she suddenly let go and ran ahead on the dirt trail, "Well, I promised to meet some friends, so later, guys!" She waved to them briefly and sped off.

Blinking, the two boys exchanged confused looked and then slumped in confusion; the brunette could be so unexpected sometimes… and it was scary… The blue-haired boy cleared his throat lightly, "Well, should we get going?"

Daisuke nodded. They were just about to walk off and make their way back into town, but stopped and turned around as the door burst open behind them and Dark tumbled out, grumbling loudly with a number of obscurities mixed with the string of sentences.

Jerking up and brushing the dirt out of his hair, the purple-haired teen grinned at them winningly, "Was it just my ears or are you two off to kick some spirits where they need it the most?"

"What's it to you?" questioned Satoshi coldly, raising both eyebrows and crossing his arms. Daisuke offered the older teen a hand up, who accepted. Still grinning, Dark winked and turned to Krad, who had just stepped out.

"Well, we're coming to help, aren't we, Krad?"

"Don't see why not," the blonde said, looking around at them, "And it's not like the first time we've worked as a group. It's not anything big, though, is it?"

Well aware that they weren't going to back off anytime soon, the blue-haired boy shrugged again, annoyed, and turned away, soon joined by Daisuke; "We'll find out soon enough, now, won't we?"

---

And thus ends the second chapter. Er… no idea when the next one will be up though, and I think I rambled again.

A vaguely amusing note on this chapter: I was going through a short/brief grim reaper thing with the scythe thingy and I was actually considering about allowing Daisuke to use it as an actual weapon. I mean, I don't see why not, but… nah.

Yeah, they have guns in whatever time-period this is and… they know how to use it. The town/village/city/something has their usual lawbreakers, and you need a permit to own a gun and… yeah. What else? Er… aside from ramblings… er… yeah. Can't think of anything to say. Again, if there's anything unclear, just tell me.

Oh yeah, and as for the four's social status: Daisuke's part of the… what? Peasants/farmers, I think. Satoshi's an aristocratic child, Dark's the son of a peddler (thus his thieving job of sorts) and Krad's the… son of a LORD? How the hell did he get dragged into this? Well, I've got a vague reason behind it, so I might make that a mini-chapter if I can't fit it in the story XD

Reviewer replies:

Hakudoshi-chan: Thanks XD

nekogirltheanimefreak: Long-ness will be the death of me, I swear XO I mean, it can only go long and good for a certain amount of time. Glad you like the story so far XD

Kyuseisha no Hikari: Wow, I'm amazed you like it. I mean, I know it's not all that bad or anything, but… er… I like to degrade myself? Yup, Dark and Krad have their own bodies and I suppose I forgot to mention that it was AU (so sorry). And I think this chapter explains how they kinda know each other. Sorry about that, entirely my fault. And thanks, I'll keep working on it and stories really do have a life on their own.

Altantis Children: Well, the prologue actually talks of the town/village that the four will end up going to, seeing as that will be talked about in… er… chapter 4, I think? Not too sure. And I love magic as well; we have to set our own limits though. Thanks!

neko-nya: That really… does sound horrid… I don't think I want to think about how many relatives I have, or what would happen if they came over XD Yow, you're mom okay now? And the moth got away :D And it was simple to make them together already cause… this isn't really a romance thing… (same with Dark and Krad but… they've had years)

KuroNoTenshi7: Thanks :) It took me forever to get into such writing styles, though… I have to admit.


	4. Chapter Three: Completion

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Three: Completion ---

Tapping lightly on the oak door, there was a muffled "Enter" and the four boys did as they were told. The interior of the room was very much like Satoshi's study room; thus meaning that it was crammed to the top with books, documents, failing cabinets and the like. In the center of the mess sat a tall-ish brunette with tanned skin, who was currently reading over some document or other and frowning deeply to himself.

"Argentine." Satoshi greeted shortly.

"Hiwatari," the other shot back calmly, before meeting the boy's eyes and smirking just slightly. His eyes were pale violet, it seemed, and sort of… eerie, upon its own sense, "And what is the reason for my pleasure of having you and your friends as guests?" He raised an eyebrow at Daisuke, who was pointedly ignoring him, and then looked at Krad and Dark, who just stared back at him coolly.

"It's about the Sakaguchi incident, as you already know," the blue haired boy replied. The four stood there, just inside the room, with papers and the like threatening to topple on top of them. But, seeing as their managing worker/whatever, Argentine, seemed to be merely be amused with the whole situation, it was clear that Dark or someone else was soon to set the place on fire.

Ever since Dark and Krad found out that they had a sort of 'skill' in the exorcising business of monsters and other unworldly spirits – dragging Daisuke and Satoshi along with them, nevertheless – they had found work within the town itself. This was done with the help of Argentine; who, despite being an aristocratic pain in the ass at times, knew how to get work and pay without too much trouble for them. Yet, considering how many stacks of papers that they had at the moment… it was slightly alarming.

Then again, it was only because of Satoshi and Krad that Argentine had agreed at all to help them with the settling of cases. He treated Dark with the air of superiority – thus, placing the purple-haired teen lower on the social ranks – and with Daisuke… well… he was just plain creepy around the confused redhead. So even after all those years, Daisuke had thoughtfully kept his distance away and pretended that nothing was wrong; although he was currently hiding behind Satoshi.

"Ah yes… _that _one." The brunette nodded slightly, finally tearing his gaze away from the staring contest with the other two, and shuffled some of the papers on his messily arranged desk, "Well, what can be said? They believe that their son is possessed and they want it dealt with as soon as possible. It shouldn't be too hard for you."

Nodding again, Argentine seemed to be distracted as the four exchanged glances; well, that wasn't all that much help, for one thing, and how were they to deal with it with only that as their lead? … Of sorts. Oh, the utter confusion of it all.

"Yeah, that's nice and all," Dark finally put in, catching the guy's attention once more, "But we could use some details."

"…" Argentine didn't reply instantly, but went over to one of the filing cabinets, yanked it open, and threw a large folder at Dark; who caught it. "Take your time to read through it all. But it doesn't seem all that dangerous, so I don't see why would need the details."

The purple-haired teen shrugged and left the room – claiming it to be too stuffy – and Krad followed after him. Daisuke looked like he was about to say something, but just shook his head and left as well, obviously curious as to what the file held. As Satoshi was about to close the door, the brunette within stopped him.

"Hiwatari, I need to talk to you."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the blue-haired boy did as he was told and re-entered the room, "What is it?"

"About your little mission, of course." Leaning his head against his hands, Argentine peered at the younger teen thoughtfully, "I wouldn't put it against your friends to do something reckless. Although the Niwa has always been quite… mysterious."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He holds magic, Hiwatari, remember that," he waved a hand around for emphasis and knocked a stack of papers in the process, "And you have to remember that, although society does accept it as a part of life, they've been keeping a close eye on him. There have been more monster attacks than usual, so he could be in danger."

"And I've noticed that you've been giving him one of those scary looks as well," Satoshi shot back coldly, "Although why, I'd rather not think of why that's so."

Argentine smirked at this, but said no more; waving his hand once more, he dismissed the blue-haired boy, who left gratefully. The other three were in the waiting room, reading over each other's shoulders and joined them.

Disentangling himself from the others, Daisuke noticed the blank look on Satoshi's face and waved a hand in front of him, "Are you okay?"

Blinking, Satoshi nodded once, "Yeah. Find anything interesting that might be worth remembering?" Noticing the redhead's concerned look, he could only shake his head, "I'm fine, really. Just got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah," sniggered Dark, "Like being overly possessive of Dai-chan for one."

"Like you aren't for Krad?" was the retort.

"So you do admit it!"

"So did you!"

"Oh, shut it, you Creep!"

"Make me, you asshole!"

As the two continued to throw insults at one another, Krad rolled his eyes and continued to read; Daisuke taking the seat next to him. "So this is the sort of illness that's been going around now? How did it infiltrate into the town so quickly, though?"

"I have no idea," the blonde replied, flicking the page over, "But there have been at least ten more cases since the first one two weeks ago, all in the richer half of the town as well. Could the peddlers have something to do with this…? Or is it just an illness floating through? Although it seems a bit hard to comprehend then…"

"It really could be anything at this point, so should we be worried now?" frowning slightly at the questionable theories behind why this was happening in the first place, the redhead looked up at the ceiling for a moment; "Strange actions… wandering around the middle of the night… screaming… visions of pain… sounds like a poltergeist or something similar to me, actually." He turned back to Krad, "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking along the same lines, but knowing Dark, he'll have ghosts coming after him for a long time…"

The purple-haired teen, who had been in the process of wrestling with Satoshi, looked up and scowled at his boyfriend, "Don't talk about being behind their backs when they can hear them, you know!"

Krad raised an eyebrow at this, "Then you should just stop acting like an idiot and making fun of every single person you meet on the streets." When Dark didn't reply (he wasn't listening), the blonde rolled his eyes and continued his reading, "No I remember why he couldn't go back to the family business of just selling goods…"

The four were eventually kicked out of the office – due to the fact that Dark had started yelling random profanities and was still fighting with Satoshi – and the blue-haired boy had gone off to start his reading of the file. That was, once they had shut Dark up by buying him something to eat, and they had just arrived at the center of the village where the well sat. How long it had been there, no one knew, but it honestly didn't matter all that much; and it parted the richer half of the town to the poorer half. And then to the road where the farmers worked day and night, with the giant Hikari estate looming over them all. That was part of the reason as to why Krad hated being home all the time – having taken residence in the Niwa household (like Dark) – but since he began traveling, it was all a bit around the place. At least it never got boring, he had to admit.

Little children were running around the paved streets playing their little games within their own imaginary world. It was common to see them around because they were too young to go to school and the like, but the fact that they had no adult supervision was slightly alarming: although there might have also been the little fact that the town/village was well connected and word spread fairly quickly if something bad had happened. Or just plain gossiping; either way it would reach someone or everyone.

Shuffling through the papers, Satoshi was only half-reading them, not in the best of moods at the moment due to what Argentine had said. Okay, so they all knew that he was a bit of an asshole in the end, but it didn't give him the right to say anything about his friends; and especially about Daisuke.

It was known fact that the redhead would never hurt someone else unless he was being threatened at all – and as far as they knew, that had never happened – or if someone he was close to was in some sort of danger. But seeing as neither situation had happened, there was no point going over it and wondering and the like.

And they were also well aware of how many people around were still suspicious with the whole magic deal and that one say it would be the death of them. It was vaguely amusing to the point of wanting to grab someone and choking them, but they had to live with it and there was no excuse to complain or accuse if nothing had happened yet.

That was the word on the line: yet.

If something were to happen, they all knew that those with open magic potential would be accused of something they had never done, and that was what Satoshi hated about how the politics and whatever seemed to work. It was so damn unfair and pointless and a waste of time. Oh yeah, that was how the world went round.

But that was beside the facts; he wouldn't let anything hurt Daisuke. And even though Dark did have a point about being too possessive… like he could say much. Anyhow, that was besides the point and the redhead didn't seem too bothered for the time being and as long as he was happy, that was all that really mattered.

Remembering that he was supposed to be reading the files and not staring at them blankly, Satoshi shook his head slightly and looked back down again; hoping, this time, that his eyes would actually focus on the words.

_Many/various situations that have caused many problems and panic among others that has not been specifically identified in the first place, and has, thus, been known to cause pain in the victim either emotionally or physically, that is yet to be confirmed._

_Rumors have been that illnesses have infiltrated the town through items and other materials, but is yet to be investigated._

_The following cases – with no deaths – have been recorded…_

There were ten names following after that, with the Sakaguchi family name jotted in by Argentine himself. Then was a list of various situations and other cases that explained what was happening exactly as well as how the last ten cases had been dealt with.

"You look worried you know." Daisuke chirped as he sat down next to the frowning blue-haired boy. Glancing upwards, Satoshi noticed that Krad was currently berating Dark about something and there was the threat along the lines that the blonde would throw him down the well if he did anything as stupid as that ever again.

"It doesn't seem all that different from other worldly spirits possessing someone's body," he shrugged and redhead inclined his head.

"But you're still worried," he pointed out simply.

"Hn. I suppose if that's what you want to be believe…"

Smiling slightly, Daisuke hugged his boyfriend, "It might not be about this, but it'll be okay."

"Right. But we better make sure that Krad doesn't kill Dark before we even get the mission started."

"You've got a point there. Hey, Dark!"

Gagging slightly because he was caught in a headlock, the purple-haired teen turned just slightly and raised his eyebrows, "What?"

"Stop getting on Krad's nerves so we can move on to the actual assignment, okay?"

"Hey, don't tell me about what I can and can't do anymore!"

"Are you saying that he was able before?" Satoshi couldn't help but ask, getting up and tucking the folder away so that it wouldn't get lost.

"Shut up, Creep!"

"Dark," Krad rolled his eyes, "If you don't shut up now, I really will throw you down the well and leave you there until your corpse rots in the fiery pits of hell."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

Grumbling under his breath, Dark eventually gave in and stopped being a nuisance – for the time being – and it wasn't long before they'd gone off to where this family lived to deal with whatever it was. This was so to get it over and done with so they could go home and to sleep; or something of that similar nature.

"So this is where he lives?"

"Yeah."

Like every other high and mighty aristocratic house, it was large and… white-like and… had the whole garden at the front and the like. The curtains were closed and it wasn't all that welcoming, but seeing as they were in a sort of crisis, they couldn't say too much as a comment to such actions.

"They must be fucking rich to have something like this as a house," commented Dark.

Choosing to ignore the teen's use of occasional profanity, Satoshi led the others to the front door and pressed the small button that rang the bell within. At first there was no sort of reaction, but they didn't have to wait all that long.

"What? I mean, here? Now? What the hell do you—damn!" there was the sound of something quite solid falling to the ground and some cursing, "I knew we should have had this placed somewhere closer to the front door!" There was another shuffling sound and then, "Yeah, I'm here. You alright? Wait, oh. Uh-huh. Yeah. I know. I mean--"

Someone seemed to be yelling at the speaker somewhere else in the house.

"Alright! Alright! I'll get it!"

The door swung open and a girl with dark green hair tied in a plait stopped whatever she was thinking and merely stared. Her clothes were lavishly designed, yet more simple than that of the more posh-like ladies that walked down the streets, and she had the air of being more casual than fancy in the first place anyway.

Dark looked past both Satoshi's and the girl's shoulders – into the house – and noticed the plugged-in phone that was currently sitting on the floor.

"That explains a lot," he muttered to himself.

This seemed to bring the girl back to attention and she started just slightly, still clinging onto the door, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"We got a message that someone in your family is currently… ill," Satoshi said slowly, not meeting her gaze but looking around in an almost bored state, "And that the last people sent here to deal with him were unable to complete the procedures."

"Oh, so that was what that phone call was about," the girl curtseyed slightly and stepped back to allow them entrance, "Just leave your shoes here and I'll take you to where my dear brother is," she coughed behind her hand at this and waited for them all to enter, "I'm Leah, by the way."

"Dark, Krad, Daisuke and Satoshi," the purple-haired teen said quickly, before the others could introduce themselves.

"Nice to meet you," she nodded once and then went over to the phone, placed the receiver by her ear and said, "They're here. And why didn't you call before? Yes, I see. Thank you. I know. We'll pay when it's done… ask my parents, I don't know!" Without even saying goodbye, Leah hung up and sighed, tugging at the end of her plait.

Krad smirked just slightly at her distress, "Argentine?"

"Yeah. He's been haggling us with teams to help my brother, but none of them worked. When the last one ran out screaming, we've absolutely refused to take anymore help from the people he deals with," she rolled her eyes, which were a shade of startling emerald, "But seeing as you're already here and I already known Hiwatari-san, it can't hurt. This way."

The interior of the house was lavishly decorated with vases and artifacts and paintings on the walls. The main colour for the house seemed to be a pale creamy colour and the everything looked the same, aside from the occasional chair, desk or some other thing that held something that looked out of place in the rest of the world.

"Where is everyone?" Krad asked, noticing the lack of life within the house. That or he was just attempting to make conversation because no one else was trying to and it was getting on his nerves quite a bit.

"Hiding… or asleep," Leah replied, reaching a plain door and turning the knob. As soon as she pushed it open, Daisuke started and Satoshi turned to face him.

"What's the matter?" he frowned, concerned, and the redhead shook his head.

"It… was just a sudden surge. Nothing dangerous… really," he looked into the room apprehensively and then shrugged, as they followed the green-haired girl into the room. Like everything else, it was decorated with the sort of object that were only meant to be seen but not touched, except for maybe the bed, seeing as there was a huddled figure under the covers.

Leah gnawed her lip and stepped back, "Should… I go?"

"Yeah, you should," Dark agreed readily, raising an eyebrow at the lump, "We'll call you when we're done or something."

Obviously relieved that she wouldn't have to witness whatever that would happen, she was gone in a few seconds and the door snapped shut behind her. Once they were certain that they wouldn't be disturbed, the four peered cautiously at the lump that was there – shivering, nevertheless – and the little voices in their head indicated that there was bound to be some form of trouble soon to come.

Rubbing his hands together after five minutes had elapsed in silence, Dark looked around at the others; "So, shall we begin?"

Krad inspected his handgun for a moment and then glanced up again, meeting the other's eyes, "I suppose we can't just stand here forever. Let's just see what this little 'illness' really is in the end, hm?"

"Wow, Krad sounds like he's really excited about this," Daisuke observed, blinking and still fidgeting just slightly.

"I wonder why though…" added Satoshi darkly. Because his own branch of magic was still a complete and utter mystery to him, it was hard to understand what was going on sometimes. Neither of the older teens had stated it though, but it was obvious that they both had some sort of possession of a branch of magic. As for what it was… they were yet to find out.

Glancing behind him, the purple-haired teen smirked at them, "You don't want to know why Krad's so excited; trust me."

"I think you're both insane."

"Nice." Cutting off their conversation there, Dark stalked over and ripped the covers off the bed, revealing a pale, shivering, green-haired teen. There wasn't all that much they could think at first, seeing as he was curled up in his bed and looking like he was going to die soon, but to take a random stab at his age, he would have to be at least Leah's age or something. And something about the hair was incredibly similar; aside from the fact that they were obviously blood-siblings.

The redhead's eyes narrowed and he glanced over at Krad, who nodded once. Satoshi caught on quickly as to what was going on and they all turned to face the purple-haired teen, who was the closest to the green-haired-apparently-ill-guy.

"Oi, wake up kid."

He received no reaction as to whether or not the teen had actually heard him. Frowning, Dark moved even closer and made a grab for a shoulder.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

This seemed to snap a sort of connection and Satoshi could actually feel the sudden magical surge that flashed through the room in a split second. Daisuke, too, seemed a bit dazed at the charge, and Krad seemed grimly satisfied at the reaction.

"It won't be long now," he muttered, stepping forwards as well.

The teen had jerked back violently at the connection and he met Dark's eyes fearfully; wide, glazed over pools of emerald and obviously not at all his own. Smirking at this, the purple-haired teen held up a hand before speaking calmly, "I know you can hear me in there. Why don't you stop pretending and come out now?"

"Uh…" Satoshi turned to his boyfriend, silently asking what the hell was going on.

"I have the slight suspicion that they already know what's behind this exactly," Daisuke whispered back, eyes not leaving the scene before him: that was, the green-haired teen cowering and staring into the eyes of Dark, who was by the bedside, and Krad slowly approaching the two of them. "And this isn't going to end up happy."

Although he seemed fairly calm while saying this, Satoshi noted that the redhead was slowly gathering energy in his left palm and shook his head; none of these sorts of assignments ever ended up happily. They always left a sort of painful mark in the end, and that was part of the reason as to sending Dark and Krad on an outside mission to who knew where.

The boy's eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"

"What, can't remember us?" Dark's smirk twitched just slightly.

"What are you talking about?"

Krad took a position on the other side of the bed and crossed his arms, "We're not stupid. The voices in your head… we know it's you again. Neil."

There was a drawn-out hiss; _"So… you two are back, hm?" _Definitely not the boy's voice, that was for sure. There was something vaguely sinister about it, _"And I see that you've brought your little friends. Well, it matters not; you couldn't destroy me before, and that means that you can't destroy me now."_

The blonde smiled coldly at this and held up his firearm, "We'll just have to see about that in round two, won't we, then?"

"_You would dare harm an innocent mortal to get at me?"_

"Oh, you know our usual methods," there was a sharp click that sliced through the silence. "And these particular firearms aren't exactly the sort that penetrates human skin, don't you recall? Dark!"

Still smirking, Dark leapt forward and tackled the teen, who in turn cannoned into Krad and they all fell into a heap. Leaping up, the possessed green-haired victim glared at them in a loathing manner and brought up both hands.

"_Don't think that just because I'm using his body, I can't rid of him myself!" _he hissed dangerously.

"_Bind!_" snapped Daisuke, the energy formed around his hand shooting out like thin strands of fine thread and wrapping themselves around the boy's arms, restraining him from doing something to hurt himself or anyone else. Krad watched the struggling teen for a moment before getting up and walking slowly over.

"Seeing as you can't hurt the body," he said in a low-yet-dangerous-voice, "You might as well stop playing around and come out."

The boy stopped moving for a moment, but this was obviously a sign that either the spirit was going to move out, or… do something else, but Satoshi wasn't about to wait to see what was going to happen next. Searching his pockets for a moment, he frowned when he couldn't seem to find what he was looking for.

The redhead tapped him on the shoulder and he turned. Smiling just slightly, Daisuke held up a thin chain with a small fragment of… something attached to it. "Looking for this?"

"Where'd you get that?" the blue-haired boy asked back, hitting his boyfriend over the head lightly – one eye locked on the captive-whatever-it-was – and taking the chain from him. "I suppose I don't want to know the answers anyway."

Both of them stopped talking as they noticed that something was happening again: Dark and Krad had been watching the boy warily for those few seconds, but the splutter of lights as everything went out had to mean something in the end, didn't it?

It wasn't all that long a wait, as a dark aqua-ish-like aura began to surround the green-haired boy and he went limp. And yet the aura remained and began to lift away from his body. The blonde turned his head slightly, caught sight of the chain that Satoshi was holding, smirked, and turned back to the problem at hand.

"_You will pay dearly for messing with my affairs once more…" _hissed the aura… or, at least, that was what they assumed in the end. It had the appearance of a sort of semi-human-to-blob-like substance to it.

"And you'll pay for messing around with people's heads," retorted Dark, frowning now, "You killed those last few people because they were 'no longer of any use to you', so we might as well kill you now because we have no idea what you're doing here in the first place!"

As the two began to exchange insults as such, Satoshi focused on the chain he had in his hand and zoned it down to the magical flow that it possessed. Like everyone else, anything even vaguely related to magic tended to use a form of medium to draw out the potential of the spell or otherwise, and this particular spell he was attempting to cast was just out of his usual spell capacity.

"_Two sides in which to one; to forms beyond those who've known and seen and come to terms with,_" he recited, more to himself than anyone else, "_crossing the lines between one to another and lost once more…_"

As Daisuke's spell faded, the boy crumpled to the floor and only moved just barely in indication that he was still breathing. But the aura seemed to completely ignore it and just hovered about, still being watched by Dark and Krad; both of which were not moving at all.

"_You will all die under the spiritual hand of death!" _A sharp chill hit the room like a cascade of water and Daisuke flinched just slightly and drew back; okay, so the power seemed to be a lot more powerful than he'd first thought, but Satoshi's spell seemed to be coming to effect so it could soon be dealt with.

"…_Aiguille._"

---

Glancing at a sheet of papers, there was a slight knock on the door and Argentine grumbled under his breath. If it was that person who gave him more sheets coming in again with more cases, someone – or something – was going to die soon.

"Enter," he called, rearranging his face so that one could not identify what exactly he was feeling or thinking at all, and the door creaked open swiftly.

At first glance it was obvious that this person was not his secretary – or whatever – as the person was wearing a faded cloak that looked travel-worn to the point that dust, dirt and grime were all just part of the attire. Dark brown with a mixture of red tinted her hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes seemed to be a clash of sapphire and emerald fusing together.

One gloved-hand reached over the desk as the door swung shut behind her, "We need to talk."

"Now?" Argentine raised an eyebrow and shook her hand briefly before sitting back down. As there were no other seats in his study, the traveler merely stood; not that she seemed to care all that much about it.

"Yes. Now; it's a serious case that you've been ignoring for too long," she snapped in an aggravated tone, "The authorities are not all that happy about it either."

"Is that so? Are you their – begging my pardon – 'message boy'?"

She sniffed, "No. they don't even know I'm here. But that's aside from the point, seeing as they're coming here themselves quite soon. But I want you to send a squad for investigations so that we can finally put those poor souls to rest once and for all. And all I want is for you to make sure that the authorities don't go with their plans to burning the whole place down."

Blinking, the brunette looked her up and down, before stating, calmly, "You're an enchantress then?"

"Sorceress, if you will; elemental."

"Of which?"

"Shadows: I'll be waiting at the gates for a few days, so I'll meet you're sent squad… soon, hopefully." She pulled the door open again, but froze. Rummaging through her cloak, she produced a small card and flicked it over so that it landed neatly on Argentine's desk, "But we need this one particular person to come. I do believe that she isn't a fighter exactly?"

Slowly, the brunette picked up the card and scanned it briefly, frowning when he read who it was, "True. What do you need her for?"

The girl waved a hand around, "Oh, that's only for them to know. See you."

"Can I least know the name of who which will be leading this squad, then?"

Turning her head slightly to meet the brunette's eyes, she blinked, "Akane. Hopefully you are fully aware of the situation, Argentine." And then she was gone.

---

"Well, damn, that was a lot harder than I thought." panted Dark as he sat on the floor, swiping at his hair that was currently sweeping over his eyes. The battle itself had been a lot shorter than one would have thought, seeing as the spell that Satoshi had cast actually pulled a switch between living and dead, but then it had gotten a little messy and the room looked like a whirlwind had hit it right in the center and had spread out steadily.

Krad snorted and replaced his weapon before pulling the curtains aside, which had – miraculously – survived the attack. It was still actually scarily bright out there and he grimaced, shielding his eyes for a moment until they adjusted to the light. "Well, if you hadn't been such a moron and run around instead of just dealing with the matter, then it wouldn't have been so hard for you."

Waving both hands around energetically, the purple-haired teen stuck his tongue out and bounced around the room a bit, ignoring the mess at his feet. Both Daisuke and Satoshi had moved the boy back into bed and the redhead had cast a simple healing spell to speed up the process. Neither of the two knew exactly what had happened, but it was the blonde who had ended up destroying the… presence in the end. And none of the older teens seemed all that excited to talk too much about it anyway.

Running a hand through his hair, Daisuke could only glance at his boyfriend before rolling his eyes as both Dark and Krad began to argue about how to deal with creatures that were trying to bite one's head off. When he noticed that Satoshi seemed really distracted again, the redhead sighed and patted his arm reassuringly.

"He'll be fine, you'll see," he said calmly.

"Hn. It's not that."

"Really? What is it then?"

"I… don't know… just a gut feeling, I suppose," wrapping his arms around the redhead's waist, Satoshi pulled him into a hug. "As long as you're there, though…"

"…" Daisuke looked up into his eyes and blinked, "Satoshi…"

The door creaked open slowly once more and everyone presently conscious in the room started and turned around to face whoever it was. Leah poked her head into the room, noticed that that her brother was in the bed, entered; and shrieked.

"OH MY GOD, YOU KILLED HIM!"

"No we didn't." snapped Krad.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD JUST DO THAT TO HIM AND EVERYTHING!"

"Whoa, calm down, miss," Dark shook his head and held his hands up, but she just wouldn't listen.

"WAIT UNTIL THE COURT HEARS THIS! YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT FOR SURE AND--"

A hand covered her mouth and a male wearing the usual attire for butlers appeared, "So Master Zeike has finally got the damn thing out of his system then?"

Raising a brow at the obvious disrespect, Satoshi nodded, "He just needs rest now."

"Right. Well, sir, there seems to be a call for you and your friends," he looked around at the other three, "from an Argentine. He said to come right to his office once the situation he gave you was dealt with."

"Then we're done here," Dark chirped in cheerily, slinging a hand around Krad's shoulder and began to lead him out, "Send our pay when you've made the complete calculations. Keep in touch and all then. Ciao!"

Laughing just slightly, Daisuke bowed at both Leah and her butler before accepting Satoshi's offered hand and they left as well. The sounds of the four starting yet another argument could be soon heard through the still closed window and Leah twitched.

"They… left… the… room… in… a… mess…"

---

Risa had been talking to her friends when she was disturbed by a man who looked the sort who was hired to deliver any sort of message at whatever time of the day. Looking up and ignoring the fact that her friends were ogling the guy behind her back, she nodded slightly.

"May I help you?" she asked politely. Okay, sure, she was quite popular among the guys and all, but they tended to keep their distance away from her since two years back one of the poor fools tried to make a move on her and Dark made them pay sorely for it. But he didn't look all that interested in her, so it couldn't have been that.

He coughed slightly, "Yes, I have a message for a Harada-san from Argentine. He says that you are to attend a briefing from him and not to loiter around and waste time. It is very important." When he noticed her look of disbelief, he added, "The Niwa and his friends are also there. Please be prompt."

When he was out of sight – the girls were still fawning over him for some reason – the brunette could only blink in silent stupidity, as she was unable to comprehend the meaning of the words. She knew who Argentine was, as her 'brother' and his boyfriend had explained her about him at some stage, but she wasn't a fighter or whatever; had she done something wrong? Was it a prank in the end or something? No, that couldn't be it.

So then why…? No one ever mentioned her former last name… so how was it…

She no longer knew what to think.

---

Damn, this was long and very badly done, I know it. XO Ah well… what's to be done? And I can't remember what I really wrote in this so if you have questions, just ask 'cause… yeah, I'm lazy at the moment.

Oh, but for those who wondered what was going on with the fighting 'scene', to put it simply, take a guess as to what happened and Dark just kept getting in the way. The spell that Satoshi used is a sort of switching between planes (as in, ghosts takes a physical form) and… yeah. I might try and make some attempt on an actual fighting scene for it but I doubt I'll bother (they always turn out so… weird) and… yeah.

Either Dark or Krad (or both) can use magic. Whether it is elemental of other (like Daisuke) we've yet to find out. So… take a guess, any guess.

And Neil was some whacked-out spirit dude I made up. The story behind that is non-existent… but if you want one, I might try to get something out. Anyway, thanks for reading this incredibly long chapter!

Reviewer replies:

Hakudoshi-chan: Thanks :D

neko-nya: Lovehate relationships are more… energetic, right? It's more amusing as well. XD Good old rebellion, that's for sure. Ew… a mosquito killed itself? And Dark doesn't know when to shut up, so Krad shuts him up himself XD

Kyuseisha no Hikari: Ah… okay then. It's just easier to think on a lower scale than I higher scale, and there are a couple of stories I have that aren't all that great, but I'm working on it. And thank you so much :D

Daishi: ;) Thanks!

KuroNoTenshi7: Lucky me, I never get pressured by anyone, though it is kinda lonesome… but whatever. I'm trying to make it as… readable as possible. But seeing how long this one ended up as…

Tamia: Everyone has angst; angst is exciting. But it's not all going to be dark and evil… so hey, who's complaining. XD Darkened Heart had the same sort of beginning ring to it as well, though… and Shrouded in Darkness… must be my mood then. o.O


	5. Chapter Four: Assignment

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Four: Assignment ---

"Okay, spill it," was the first thing that came out of Dark's mouth as soon as the door swung shut behind them, "What the hell are you going to make us do now?"

"Dark, you have to learn to shut up once in a while," muttered Krad in annoyance as he resisted the wonderful urge to hit his forehead with the back of his hand. Of course, there were a lot of solid objects around that could be useful, but since that would mean a lot of pain or braining his boyfriend as hard as possible…

Satoshi was pointedly ignoring the two of them and just stared at his employer expectantly, "How serious is it then?"

"Huh?" Dark blinked, not getting it.

Having not said a word since Dark opened his mouth, Argentine looked rather bored for someone who had demanded their presence as soon as possible, and it was little wonder that the purple-haired teen was so pissed off in the first place. Inspecting his fingernails to pass the time – as he hated reading so many of the same problems day in and day out – the brunette eventually glanced up at them and inclined his head slowly.

"We have to wait for one more person and then I'll explain," he said simply, turning back to stare at his hands blankly, "because I am in no mood to have to go and explain myself more than once. Mousy over there is thick enough without demanding details."

"Oi!" Stepping forwards, Dark was about to yell something – probably profound – but the blonde behind him pulled him back promptly and placed a hand over his mouth so that everything that came out was nothing more than a muffled… sound of sorts.

On the whole, none of the four present could really care less as to why there were just standing there and all, waiting to be told about something they didn't know about; but it was the mere fact that there were no seats that was bugging the hell out of them. They had been out since sometime in the middle of the day, went off and had to exorcise some demon-spirit-ghost thing and now they couldn't even get the time to just sit there and argue. Or do something that didn't involve a lot of arguing and fighting and the like; which they did every other breathing second.

They could sit on the floor, if they wanted to, but the threat of being squashed by the many stacks of papers was too great; even standing it was rather ridiculous. But it might have had something to do with the fact that Daisuke was the shortest and it was, like, five centimeters taller than him. He shifted away from the pile slowly.

Another five seconds passed before Argentine decided to break the silence. Or had it had something due to the fact that he was receiving glares from all those present in the room (well, Daisuke was frowning, which was the closest thing to glaring… but still). Looking up at them, he stifled a bored yawn. Sitting around in an office all day really was a drag.

"So what was it causing all the problems in the district anyway?" he asked.

Shooting Dark a warning glare to keep him quiet, Krad stepped up, "The problem seemed to be the cause of a restless and somewhat vengeful spirit that inhabited physical bodies and caused many problems. Infesting the mind with mind waves, only certain spells could be used to extract it and then it was dealt with."

Argentine raised an eyebrow, "Vengeful?"

The blonde nodded and his boyfriend chirped up helpfully; "Neil was always a bit of an asshole when he was alive, so it was only natural to be an asshole when he died and couldn't pass through to the other side."

"Aah… so when were you planning to tell me about this?"

"When we got back? I dunno," Dark turned to face Krad, "Were we ever going to tell him about how that guy died in the first place?"

"He's been wandering around the place for a good few years, though," muttered Krad, shrugging, "I didn't think it would be all that necessary in the end, when you think about it." Glancing up, he caught Argentine's eye, who was scowling at this, and then smirked, "That was the only case in which you failed in completing, wasn't it?"

The brunette pointedly ignored that particular comment and shuffled a couple of papers without much thought; "Neil used to be one of the employers in this area," he explained to Daisuke and Satoshi, who were both evidently lost, "Thick-headed, irrational, he was the sort that liked to get into a lot of trouble without even doing all that much."

"Reminds me of a certain someone," Satoshi commented calmly, and Dark shot him a glare.

"Of course, he decided to take an assignment that was too much for him, got killed, and was never heard of again, that is," he shook his head, "he 'mysteriously disappeared'. The public would have never forgiven us if they heard that one of them died in an attempt."

The redhead blinked, before turning to face the purple-haired teen, "Details?"

"Later, but first…" he turned, as did the others, as the door finally swung open to reveal the last person in whom they had been forced to wait for. Risa looked ruffled and annoyed at the same time, and frowned pointedly at Argentine.

"Risa-chan?" Daisuke looked honestly baffled, and Satoshi scowled, turning his attention to his employer as well. "What are you doing here…?"

"I could ask that very same question!" replied the annoyed brunette, "But I think the question should be directed to Argentine-san right this instant!" She was fuming, it was clear to see, but it really wasn't all that dangerous-looking… although Satoshi, Krad and Dark didn't look all that happy either… ooh yeah, you didn't want to be enemies against these people.

Standing up, Argentine allowed a slight smirk to grace his features as he picked up a folder that was stuffed with documents, "I was personally asked to tell you to come here, so I did so." He said smoothly, walking over to the four, now five, "Although I cannot see the reason of taking someone who cannot even defend herself in such a dangerous mission…"

"What's the mission?" Krad cut in sharply.

"It's simple, really, when you think about it," he drawled, handing the folder over to the blonde, "You five have been assigned to go to the village of Rutile in investigation and interrogation for evidence as to the death of all those villagers many years back."

"Rutile…" repeated Daisuke slowly, eyes wide, "But, wasn't that--"

"Yes, the town that was said to be cursed," Argentine nodded briefly as he continued filling them in on the details, "Simply enough, you are merely sent there to collect information and to find anything that may help us to understand the desperation of the town, but not anything else. It is a dangerous place that no one dares to step into, but it seems that the illness that once hit them has slowly begun a spread into other towns. There seems to be a highly baffling mystery in its own part, and you are going to unravel it slowly, but surely. Reporting back will be in regular intervals."

"What, we can't just stay there until we complete it?" demanded Dark, looking highly offended, "Who do you take us for?"

"It's a dangerous place; better to be safe than sorry."

The purple-haired, agitated teen looked ready to begin another long argument, but had to be shut up by Krad once more. Risa was frowning at this; "But why am I being sent there. It's a cursed town and… you know…!" she spluttered angrily.

"I was not the one who wished for you to be assigned," Argentine said shortly, "In the end, I would have rather avoided sending anyone to investigate that town's… particular history."

"So then, why…"

"A shadow elemental named Akane decided to pay me a visit just an hour back with the little details of my desk position. She seems to be willing to take you along for the ride, though I have no idea as to why."

Krad blinked slowly at this, "A shadow elemental… huh…"

Nodding, the male brunette returned to his desk and sat down. "You have twenty-four hours to prepare for the journey and will meet this elemental at gates of the town, in which the rest will have to be done in your own hands and time. I'm sure to say that you accept?"

The four boys exchanged glances in a split second before nodding once to affirm their position, but it was clear from the start that Risa would be in indecision.

"I still don't see as to why I have to be there." She grumbled, "It's going to be dangerous, isn't it? I know it is!"

Stifling a cough – as it would seem – Argentine met her eyes coolly, "You're going to be with trained fighters. I'm sure that you will be fine, Harada."

The brunette huffed at this, but said nothing more, which was good enough as to her agreement, and he dismissed them vaguely before returning to stare blankly at one of the many walls and papers before him. They weren't the only ones baffled as to why they were being sent there; he was just as confused as they were, if not more so. The remaining factor in this entire situation was why was he allowing them to go? He had heard rumors and tales of the town itself, in which no one dared to enter, or even approach it, at all, so why now? Was it some sort of sick, twisted joke in the end? Or was it as serious as he had ended up making it out to be?

The girl, Harada Risa, why was she being sent there in the first place? Just leaving the village itself was a cautionary action because of the wild creatures that roamed beyond it, so why was she _needed _in the first place? As far as he knew, she wasn't any more special than, let's say, his secretary, in whom he didn't even know their name.

But although there were these particular doubts in the end, he had to admit – if not reluctantly so – that there seemed to be a ringing urgency and truth in the words he had heard, and it looked like the rest would be up to them.

Well, might as well hope that they don't end up dying like Neil did; damn fool.

---

As per usual, the village was oblivious to the dangers outside and had little to no care to another's problems. So, as it was, the people who were deep in thought in the first place were promptly ignored, and the five had been walking back to the Niwa household without many words being said at all. They were all in some thought or another, although it was all a bit too confusing as to what and why it was happening, but not much else could be said about it.

Eventually, they arrived back at the small homely-yet-shabby dwelling and entered. As they expected, it was completely deserted, as all labor tended to be done outside, what with their fields and ploughs and whatever else they used.

Flopping onto a chair, Dark glared at the ceiling, "Okay, first thing; did anyone get a word of what Argentine was trying to say back there, 'cause I'm completely and utterly lost now. Not to mention certain people were questioning my intelligence." He glared pointedly at Satoshi, "Or something similar to that."

Taking a seat next to his boyfriend, Krad just ignored him and placed the thick folder on the table, opening it slowly, "He gives us twenty-four hours and no reading time? Who does he think we are now?"

"Superman?" suggested Daisuke.

"I'm inclined to believe that," muttered Satoshi, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"But how long has that guy been out of date now?" asked Risa, taking a seat as well.

"…" Krad shook his head, "You kids can be so insane."

The redhead, who was heading towards the kitchen, turned his head just slightly and smiled in an off-hand manner, "Well, we are younger than you and all. Might as well live it through before we're considered too old to be acting in such a manner."

"Whatever."

Eyes scanning briefly over the files and documents, Krad's impassive scowl deepened and Satoshi walked over to read over the blonde's shoulder and frowned. Dark was in no mood to be trying to read, and Risa wasn't all that happy about being forced to do something that she had never asked to be involved in.

Returning to the room, Daisuke thought for a moment that someone was going to die, for equally good measure, and glanced confusing over to Dark and Risa; who shrugged in reply, not really being kept up to date. Setting the tray he had made down on the table, the redhead pulled his boyfriend into a seat and then waved a hand in front of his face, "Satoshi-kun? You still with us?"

"Somehow, I doubt it," Risa commented, crossing her arms and scowling at the blue-haired boy, "but then again, he always looks the same; like a statue."

"Risa-chan…" he waved a warning finger in her direction, and she smiled innocently. Satoshi seemed to have snapped out of his stupor though, and merely glanced at them with a questioning look stamped on his face.

Daisuke inclined his head, "You decided to zone out on us again." He informed him simply.

"… Sorry about that. But it looks like the situation is a lot more serious than we expected."

"Really?" he was about to go off and find himself a seat, but the blue-haired boy pulled him into his lap before he could move. With a shrug, he just glanced over to Krad, who was still scowling very, very deeply; indicating that he was in no mood to really be asked any questions, but it just couldn't be helped. "Krad?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Hey," Dark snapped his fingers in front of the blonde's face, who blinked and gave him a sharp glare, "Unlike you and Creep over there, the rest of us have no idea what's going on--"

"Except that the town of Rutile is concerned," finished Daisuke, "But… wasn't that…?"

"The town that had all the residents killed from both an unknown illness and some sick, twisted joke of blood-hungry maniacs," nodded Satoshi.

"But apparently there's more," Krad finally looked up from the files and poked Dark for interfering, "seems that all these deaths are connected – like we didn't know already – and the neighboring towns, as Argentine informed us, seem to be getting hit by an illness that cannot be cured. I'm inclined to say that they're just superstitious, but here," he waved a hand at the folder, "it says that some of the higher powers are thinking of burning the entire village down."

"And what's so bad about that?" Dark couldn't help but ask.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Don't you get it? If they were murdered or killed in an unjust cause, there's bound to be spirits roaming the town. If we destroy it, they'll probably wander around forever and cause death to the living. Don't you remember those lessons we took?"

"What lessons?"

"… My god, you're a moron."

"So why are we being forced to go?" Risa fidgeted in her seat, "Especially with me around! It's dangerous out there and we all know that I can't even defend myself most of the time!"

Daisuke turned his head slightly to face her, "But remember when Saehara tried to hit on you and then you--"

"That was a completely different matter in itself!"

Smirking, Satoshi just shook his head at the memory, before turning back to the matter at hand. "But it doesn't seem right, either way. Whether or not they need to be finally put to rest or not, why are we being the ones sent to do this? Not to mention the little fact with Argentine telling us to come back to make reports. How far is this town from here?"

"No one really knows," Krad sighed in frustration, still reading the files at odd intervals, "But it's probably a far way off. We'll need to hire horses, utensils for camp, rations, you know, the usual." He jabbed a finger in Dark's direction, "Go grab a pencil and write down what we need. You might as well do something useful."

"Whaa--! You mean we're seriously going to go!" the brunette half-shrieked in shock, looking ready to faint.

"We already agreed on it, so we might as well," snapping the folder shut, a grim smile fluttered across his features, "And besides, it'll be interesting to see who and what we encounter there. Better than having Dark in the way."

The purple-haired teen jerked up indignantly, "I heard that!"

"We're in the same room, dumbass; of course you're going to hear it."

"Hey!"

"Come on, we better get packing or something," Daisuke decided out loud before leaving the room with Satoshi and Risa behind him, "Otherwise…" He froze, "What am I going to tell my parents?"

"Oh yeah!" the brunette behind him gasped, "But they won't like it, will they?" Hope radiated from her voice, but at the same time it was full of apprehension; what if they were allowed to go? Then what? She really didn't want to get involved.

The redhead mumbled something under his breath and then shrugged, "Knowing Argentine-san, he would probably convince them that this was okay… I mean, he managed to make them think it was okay for me to be running around and dealing with the troubles in town, so I don't see why…"

"It's crazy, that's why!"

"Risa, you're giving me a headache," muttered Satoshi, "so stop shouting, please."

"But I don't want to! I can't believe I'm going on a really dangerous mission without any consent and I can't even fight and I don't see the point in all this and… and--" a hand covered her mouth and Dark flapped a piece of paper in the boy's direction.

"Would you mind going out and buying this stuff? I need to deal with Krad and Risa-chan, you need to sort out what we've already got," he dumped a small bag in Daisuke's hand, "That's for the stuff; good old Krad; his family's so rich they don't know when it disappears."

The younger boy blinked, "You were stealing from them again?"

"Not stealing, it's Krad's, really. Now just move it already." Pushing the two boys out of the house, the door slammed shut and was instantly filled with arguing: mostly Dark-Risa centric. Once in a while Krad would butt in, but there wasn't much of a chance for him and Daisuke just stared at his home like it was a mad house.

Satoshi tugged him by the sleeve of his shirt to bring him back to reality, "We might as well get this part over and done with. Come on."

"Okay…"

Walking all the way back to town was vaguely tiring, but after doing it for so many years in their short lifetime, there wasn't much else to worry about. Ignoring the people that were walking past them – and they to them – they found themselves done in about an hour, and stuck with a whole stack of really annoying and bulky packages. Satoshi couldn't help but frown at this.

"We should have dragged Dark along; leaving us with all this junk…" he muttered, making sure that he didn't trip over his feet in the process.

"Aw, we just have to walk all the way back home now," laughed Daisuke, seemingly enjoying the fact that his boyfriend was in a lot of pain; or plain annoyance, whatever fit him best. Balancing his own packages, the redhead bounced on ahead, "But what are your parents going to say when they hear about the assignment?"

"Them? I doubt they'll notice that I'm gone," the blue-haired boy snorted disdainfully, looking over his own load, "And what difference does it make in the end? The only advantage to this is that I won't have to deal with those obsessed girls that keep stalking us," he jerked his head back a bit and Daisuke caught sight of the fangirls instantly.

He sighed, "I kinda feel sorry for you, having to deal with them day in and day out. But… don't you wonder why we were assigned to do this?"

The seriousness in his tone of voice made Satoshi blink, confused, "Daisuke?"

"Don't you wonder if we're really doing the right thing in the end? That this is really going to fix things? What happens if it gets worse and more people are hurt?"

"What are you talking about?" depositing the packages, Satoshi grabbed at the redhead's shoulder and turned him around.

"I… I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt, is all," was the mumbled reply he received, yet he would not meet the blue-haired boy's gaze, "And this really is going to be dangerous… I can tell…"

"… Daisuke…"

"Eheh… never mind me, I was just rambling," laughing in a distracted manner, Daisuke pulled away, "Come on, we better get back otherwise we're going to get told off and--" he gave a squeak as he was jerked back by Satoshi. "Sa-satoshi-kun…?"

"Tell me what's wrong," the blue-haired boy whispered, arms wrapped around the redhead's waist to keep him from running off, "I know it's serious."

"…"

---

"Ew… gross!" Risa commented, hitting Dark over the head with a broom handle that she happened to be holding at that particular time, "Can't you guys just get a room or something! What happens if Emiko-san walked in and everything!"

"We'd tell her to leave, what else?"

"You know, Risa, what you said before just sounded so wrong," was all Krad could say as he pushed Dark off of him.

As it was, the two old boys had gone into a sort of commando-fighting-guerilla force that involved a lot on running around and swearing, and in which Dark eventually managed to tackle Krad on the floor. In which case started another argument, and the purple-haired teen using some… rather colourful language. How these two were really a couple, Risa could just never work out. She had never seen them do anything even remotely romantic, but they did seem to hang out a lot, and it was clear that Dark always seemed to be thinking… about stuff. She shuddered to complete that sentence.

"Anyway, I already washed all your clothes so get up and help me fix up lunch or dinner or something," she gave the teen another hit over the head, "Move it!"

"You know that I can't cook!" protested Dark.

"Like hell you can't," grumbled Krad, "Move your ass or I'm going to spend tonight at my own home and you'll be left in the dust."

"…" knowing better than to begin another protesting/verbal battle, Dark got up and followed after the brunette, who began to chide him for one reason or another. Like a mother, nevertheless. Krad smirked at the thought.

On the whole, they all had family, most not really caring about a thing they did, so it was kind of odd to be thinking in this way, but still. The blonde found it amusing, nevertheless. Of course, any other thoughts that had been running through his head was cut rudely short as Dark bounced right back and tackled him again; although this time it was in a more definite affection.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

"Risa-chan wants you to help as well," replied the purple-haired teen, still hugging him and refusing to let go. "So I told her I'd go get you."

"Well then, get off."

"I don't want to."

Rolling his eyes, Krad crossed his arms and wondered how long it would take before his boyfriend finally got off him.

---

"Sometimes… in the dead of night I can hear them."

"Hear who?"

_There is a whispering cold around them. Forever there; twirling and spiraling to the ends of the earth. Wailing and screaming, no one can hear them._

"I don't know who they are… but they keep coming back. I can't block them out; and it keeps getting louder."

"But then… why? Why can you hear them?"

_They want to reach someone; anyone. They need to dull the pain. But it won't go, it'll never go. And they can never escape it, no matter what. They've tried, and yet, only their voices can reach beyond the winds that carry them._

"I don't know if I'm the only one. Maybe they're trying to tell someone something; I'm not sure anymore."

"…"

_Sometimes you have to wonder. Sometimes you have to guess._

_But what really happened?_

"I just get the feeling that something is going to happen… when we go there…"

"Daisuke…" there was a poke in the back of his mind, reminding him of the little aftermath of their battle with the spirit Neil. That uncomfortable feeling that something was going to happen; good or bad, he had no idea. Was that what the redhead was going through? Or was he just plain insane?

"Stupid, isn't it?" He was jerked out of his thoughts as Daisuke laughed once more and walked on ahead, "Anyway, we better go or we'll have to deal with Risa-chan as well."

"Stupid? I think not," commented Satoshi, but not loud enough for the other to hear. But deciding it was best to leave it at that, he merely picked up the packages he had left on the ground and hurried to catch up to him.

Of course, when they arrived home, they just ended up walking in on a most unpleasant scene that one would rather avoid talking about…

"Can't you two just get a room already?"

"Uhm…"

Satoshi stifled an annoyed sigh that had been threatening to escape him since after the battle; "And you call us immature."

"Anyway, I need to go and talk to grandpa about the horses, 'kay? Be right back," despite the awkwardness of the situation, Daisuke was smiling cheerfully and was right out of the house before anymore could be said. As Krad heaved himself up, the blue-haired boy crouched to gain his attention.

"Hey…"

"What?"

"Do you know anything about telepathy?"

---

And there we have another chapter finally done for readers. I dunno, this chapter… was… odd? I think. Or just over-dramatised or… okay, I'm not sure as in what I'm trying to say here, so let's just leave it at that. Won't be all that many chapters until they reach this place and… then it really begins XD

Clearing things up:

Yes, Argentine was being an ass at the start of this chapter because he felt like it. And yes, Risa is going with them although they don't know why. And yes, the name Rutile came out rather randomly because the town needed a name.

Have you noticed that Daisuke and Satoshi seem to be more into their relationship than Dark and Krad? Why? I actually don't know (scratches back of head). It wasn't intentional, but I guess it just has something to do with the fact that… uh… I dunno, Satoshi seems to be more of a romantic than anything else, when he isn't 'creepy'. (sweat drop) But I can assure you that Dark and Krad are a couple, and I'll try and make it more… uh… whatever, for them. They seem to be fighting a lot, though…

About Neil: yes, he is dead and now gone, but there may be more to it. As in his actualm cause for death blah blah blah. I was going to have the others explain it in this chapter, but… well, yeah. They were occupied with other activities, so later, probably. All we know is that he used to be an employer like Argentine and was rather rash. Dark and Krad have met him (ONCE) so yeah. That is, once when he was alive.

The feeling that Satoshi experienced in the last chapter was merely a gut feeling; Daisuke's is an actual reaction towards negative magical vibes.

Dark and Krad were arguing about something again (thus what Risa said first) and they were actually making out in the last part (what Satoshi said) and were out in the hall. So that's my romance for the two… I feel sorry for them…

What? They have horses? (blinks) Well, the town is really far away… so what did we expect?

Weapons will mostly consist of guns, but there will be blades and stuff (referring to Koudelka again… in case you were wondering.)

And I think that's about it. Any other questions, just ask. Oh, and sorry for all spelling/grammatical errors. No matter how hard I try, I can never find them myself… anyone wanna beta?

Reviewer replies:

Hakudoshi-chan: Yup, sure is XD I should update more… really, I would.

neko-nya: Well, at least when brids fly into windows, it's just a split-second thing. But really… that just sounds gross. Er… exorcism, I think that's how it's spelt (yay for spell check) The review button is very, very evil. That's all I can say…

windchaser90: Thanks. I'll do my best… although it may be a long while before it's done… but I'm trying.

KuroNoTenshi7: Thank you:D

Uh… where'd everyone go? (looks around) Anyway, yes, reviews are very much appreciated, especially for someone like me… I tend to feel unloved… and I'm being selfish, so! Hope you hang around for the next chapter! (has no idea when it'll be out)


	6. Chapter Five: Telepathy

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

_Warning of confusion and many grammatical/spelling errors (was half asleep while typing this). Thank you._

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Five: Telepathy ---

Krad blinked at this as he shoved Dark away, who had been hovering around like an annoying wasp that wasn't about to sting anytime soon. He gave Satoshi a long look, "What?" he finally found himself asking, all the while poking his boyfriend to go off and help Risa with the preparations.

Satoshi rolled his eyes, "Telepathy. Do you know anything about it?" He repeated firmly, wondering how hard it could be just to answer on simple question.

"I thought someone like you would have read about it already," the blonde narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "I mean, you do lock yourself in that room a lot more than most normal human beings." Dark looked like he was about to say something, but Krad clamped a hand over his mouth, "Besides, why do you think that I know about it?"

"Because," the blunette said impatiently, glancing over his shoulder in case Daisuke was returning, "as a member of the feudal lord of this land and all that usual crap that we have to listen to every single day, you have easier access to these things. And telepathy is a forbidden art, remember." Unlike other magical forms, telepathy had been one of the few actually banned, as reading minds wasn't exactly the most pleasant of occurrences; especially if you weren't expecting it.

Frowning at this – although it had nothing to do with his family lineage as such – the blonde scratched the back of his head with his free hand while unconsciously trying to keep Dark out of trouble. That was, the purple-haired teen was still trying to say something insulting and couldn't get the words out. Oh well, too bad for him.

Eventually, he looked up again, "Depends on what you mean by that. There's the mind reading, communicating between two minds, or talking to animals as such."

"How about when the other side wants to reach us," Satoshi pressed, "is that possible at all?"

"I suppose. I mean, spirits do tend to be human at first." Krad stood up and shoved Dark towards the kitchens, "Why do you ask?"

Taking another glance behind him, the boy shrugged lightly, "Daisuke says that he's been hearing voices lately… calling to… someone…"

Dark decided to pop right back into the hallway at this point, commenting, "Maybe he's just going insane or something, you know?" He ducked his head as Satoshi took a swipe at him randomly, scowling. Then he decided to scuttle off as Krad had held his gun up pointedly. "Sheesh, can't a guy walk around anymore?"

"No, they can't," snapped Risa's voice, "Because you have to help me set the table or you can eat outside on your own!"

"Risa-chan… you can be so cruel sometimes…"

"That's me!"

Rolling his eyes at the constant interruptions, Krad crossed his arms and frowned at the ceiling for a moment, "So he's been hearing voices?"

"Yeah, that's what he just told me. And they keep getting louder and he can't block them out."

"Hm… I always thought he was that sort."

"What?"

The blonde waved an arm around dismissively, "He uses magic, so that's part of the reason why these things happen. I mean, they're the sort that are gifted with one thing or another, and that's the result," Satoshi raised an eyebrow at this, and Krad tried to explain himself properly, "You're elemental, right?" A nod for the affirmative, "Well, Daisuke's an offensive magic user, correct? That means he can summon any element with the right spell and item, ecetra, and all that stuff." Another nod, showing that he was following at the moment, "And did you know that strong magicians aren't all that common now?" This time the blunette shook his head, "Well, magicians are around, but really strong experienced ones have whittled out over the years. That's why laws against magic haven't been so serious as it was centuries back."

Satoshi nodded at this, but then frowned, "And how is it that you know all this?"

"My parents, and documents floating around," Krad replied coolly, "They listen to all that day in and day out, so I pick these things up in the process. But full-fledged magicians are incredibly powerful, as stated, and usually have some other skills up their sleeves. And from what I seen Daisuke do over these years, I think it's safe to see that he's one of those 'dwindling species.'"

"You make him sound like an animal."

"Isn't he?"

"You can be so weird sometimes."

"Apparently it runs in the family."

"Uh… huh…"

"What are you two still doing in the middle of the hallway?" Daisuke asked curiously as he returned, inclining his head and looking at the two of them with a lost look on his face. Krad just shrugged it off dismissively, and walked off as they could clearly hear Dark and Risa arguing in the kitchen. Satoshi avoided the redhead's questioning look and picked up the packages he had dropped as soon as they had come back. "Satoshi-kun?"

"It's nothing," he said simply, "we just didn't want to have to suffer the arguments of those two." As if to prove him correct, there was a sudden shout and more yelling before the audible thud of someone's head cracking on a frying pan pushed a forced silence out. Laughing nervously at this, Daisuke stumbled after Satoshi as they entered the kitchen to see what exactly had happened.

Risa was tapping a foot against the wooden planks that made the floor of the house, holding a large and heavy-lookinh frying pan in one hand while the other was against her hip. She was scowling down at the twitching figure of Dark while Krad stood at the side, sighing a little as he made himself a glass of orange juice for one reason or another.

Approaching the lump that was the purple-haired teen, the redhead bent down and poked him for a moment, waiting for a reaction; Dark groaned. Accepting this, he stood up to face his friend-more-like-family, "Did you really have to do that to him, Risa-chan? You might give him permanent brain damage one day."

The brunette huffed as she replaced the frying pan, "He was just being so uncooperative and insulting, and his language! Emiko-san will want to have a few words with him as soon as she gets back home! And besides, he wasn't helping any and just kept getting in the way, so what else was I supposed to do?"

"Send him out like what we usually do?"

"Dai-chaaaaan," she rolled her eyes at him in exasperation, "You have to be cruel to be kind, and seeing that he's never kind to anyone at all, he needs a lesson or two. Hikari-san has to deal with him every day, right?" She shot at the blonde.

Krad nodded, not paying any attention as he continued to make his orange juice, "Threats don't work all that well on him now, so I was left with the conclusion of shooting him once in a while."

The redhead's eyes widened as Satoshi placed the bags on the table and kicked Dark a couple of times to confirm that he was still alive, "Is it really safe to do that? I mean, shooting him really could kill him one day…"

"He survived all those other times. So I don't think it makes much of a difference."

"All those… other… times…" Daisuke was beginning to look really worried about the blonde's sanity and Dark's health, but no more was said as the purple-haired teen made a miraculous recovery and jumped to his feet.

"Risa! How could you do that to me?.!" He mock-sobbed. "And Krad, you didn't do a thing to stop her! How could you!" He stole Krad's orange juice as he complained all the while.

The blonde hit him over the head and took his glass back, "She had every right to do what she did, and I wasn't about to stop her. Now shut up and help a little. It's not like we're going to be living domestically for a long time anyway. We're moving out soon to that place, right?"

Dark snatched the orange juice back and took a large gulp, grinning, "Yeah, I suppose. But then _we _won't have any quiet time because we have to babysit the others!"

"We don't need babysitting," snapped Satoshi.

"Yeah right. We all know that you don't even step outside with Dai-chan accompanying you!"

"Shut up! There's a valid reason to that!"

"As if! You need babysitting!"

"Bastard--"

It took both Daisuke and Risa to restrain Satoshi from trying to wring Dark's throat. Krad found himself, once more, without his orange juice, and pummeled Dark to the ground to get it back. Of course, by then the other teen had drunk over half of it, and the blonde glared at him. "I hate you."

"I know you do. That's why I love you."

"Shut up, you moron. And now you've gone and made Satoshi want to rip your throat out. What do you say to that, hmm?"

As if noticing that the three younger teens were still present, Dark shook his head slowly, "Well, who would have thought it was possible. Now he wants to kill me."

"Gee, you really are slow, aren't you?"

"Probably. Remember the last time I argued with Neil before we actually got attacked by him?"

"Do I really want to remember that time?"

"Okay, that was a bad example."

Eventually they sorted everything out and Satoshi swore vengeance on the purple-haired teen for all eternity. This of course cracked Dark up and he found himself dealing with a stitch in his side while the others worked on making something to eat, seeing as they hadn't eaten anything for hours. So they all calmed down for a moment and tried not to talk too much about the upcoming events that may end up leading them to their doom, and so night finally came… like, finally.

After Daisuke saw Satoshi off home, his mother entered the shack-like-house-whatever and instantly glomped Dark in excitement; or she was trying to choke him to death, no one knew. Of course the purple-haired teen wasn't in the best of conditions after being treated like a sack of potatoes, so it was hard for him to act… well, normal-ish without swearing and being rude and all that other stuff. The sky had darkened to the extent where candles had to be used, and Emiko Niwa set about with Risa to get dinner ready for everyone, talking all the while.

"I didn't know you and Krad were going to be back so soon," the woman said, more to herself than to anyone else, it would seem. Daisuke had pointedly retired to his room to avoid his mother's long speeches as such, and that left both the blonde and his boyfriend at a loss as to what to do. Emiko had already told them that she didn't need their help and to make themselves comfortable; but one can only be comfortable in a house with very, very few possessions in tact. "Dai-chan told me that it would take a lot longer for you to return back."

"I think we were all just misinformed about that," Krad said, giving Dark a glare, "And it's not like we're going to be able to stay long anyway, Mrs. Niwa."

"Ah… the youth of today," she shook her head slightly at this, but was still smiling, "Always traveling and causing trouble for the rest of the world, who wouldn't enjoy it? But I was sort of hoping that you could stay for a least a week, I'm sure you've had many… interesting tales." She seemed to doubt this and quickly changed the conversation, "So have you been eating right? Anyone take something that belonged to you? Have you been causing trouble?"

"Yeah, no and… I suppose," Dark replied, scratching the back of his head as he answered all three questions simultaneously. "But it was never my fault! Honest!" Krad jabbed an elbow into his ribs for this little white lie, as it was neither little nor white.

It didn't look like Emiko believed it either, but didn't press the matter. Turning her head, she called to her son, "Daisuke!"

"Yeah?"

"Could you set up the guest room for Dark and Krad?"

"You mean the chicken coop?"

"Daisuke!"

"I know, I know. I will," there was a faint sigh at this as the redhead shifted himself and appeared out of his room. He looked slightly annoyed at the thought of arranging their 'guest room' seeing as all it was just their spare storage room. Not that they had much to store in the first place; and most of the room seemed to be inhabited by dust, so… yeah. It was going to be a lot of fun to deal with, that was one thing for sure.

---

Night approached swiftly, candles snuffed out as gusts of chilling wind swept through the houses, most of them without curtains or shutters closed. Stars could be seen out, twinkling lightly and illuminating the dark blue that made up the huge stretch of sky above all of them, yet other than that no other sounds could be heard.

Nothing, like anything, had a reason for existence.

The leaves on trees swayed rhythmically with the breeze, which kept changing in strength and occasionally direction. There was something about it that was almost… enchanting, and the low moan of wind through gaps in the land could be heard all around them. There was little life, and even less of light. But that was the balance.

Shifting under the covers of his bed, Daisuke stared out the window; the glass dull and not exactly all clear, making it harder to see what it was like out. It wasn't hard to work out that it was a colder night than most, but that was besides the point at the moment, and no one seemed to care the least about it. Sitting up and ignoring the loud snored in the room next to him, the redhead inclined his head, waiting or something to happen.

He knew exactly what it was he was waiting for, but whether it came or not, he had no idea. Maybe, in a way, he didn't want to know, but it was better to be prepared and distressed than not knowing and getting the biggest shock out of his life when he did find out.

Like they knew that he had been waiting, voices floated through his mind. Soft, yet pleading, with the edge of urgency attached to it firmly.

"_Long ago… we never knew what became of us… but we cannot be at peace. We cannot rest. It is impossible. The pain cuts us deep… can no one hear us?"_ thin wailing followed, making the boy shiver unconsciously and he recoiled, though he had no idea as to why.

'What do you want?' he asked back mentally, seeing if they could hear him or not. There was a pause at this, and then, as if hesitantly, a reply.

"_We want nothing but peace. We ask for nothing by to be free from what it is that holds us back. If you can hear us, you communicate with us, and maybe the power has yet to fade in today's people. But it is dangerous and uncommon. Who are you?"_

'I… I'm a magic-user,' Daisuke said slowly, not wanting to give away more information than necessary, 'I don't know if I can help, though…'

"_If you can hear us, we can hope you can help," _there was thin chuckle at this, _"But remember, what you see is not always the truth in this cruel world of fate…"_

"Wha--" the redhead jerked his head around at the sound of floorboards creaking, but the door to his room was still closed and Dark's snores could still be heard quite clearly. There was no reply to this and the air around him seemed to ease up quite a bit, only then making the boy aware that he hadn't been breathing correctly during the exchange.

Placing a hand over his heart, Daisuke tried to make sense of what was going on. Admittedly he had had this kind of conversation for a while now, and it was always the same result in the end; they never told him who they were, what had happened, and that they desperately needed a peace of mind to stop the wailing and pain they suffered day in and day out. He knew that anyone – especially Satoshi – would not be all that happy about this sort of action, but he knew from the bottom of his heart that they meant him no harm; that all they wanted was help.

That was part of the reason as to why he had found the assignment to Rutile one of incredible coincidence. That was one of the few towns that had mystery surrounding it with myths and legends of curses as such. Something through fear for many people who knew nothing about it, and the rumors that filled in whatever details they wished were probably all wrong anyway. There was an overshadowing feeling about the task, and he didn't know whether he should tell the others or not.

He looked out the window and a couple of leaves flashed by. Stretching back, he closed his eyes as he tried to make sense of this thoughts and the magical ability within him. Not even his parents knew the extent of what he could do and it used to scare him; it still scared him now, but at least he had some control over it now.

Pulling the coarse covers over his head, Daisuke was lulled to sleep by Dark's reassuring snores and the gentle hum of the wind passing by through the fields that made up where he lived amongst many others. Life was good how it was, and he would never have it any other way.

---

The next morning found itself greeting a hysterically happy Emiko choking her son to death as he tried to prise her off. Not that it would help, seeing as he couldn't even deal with Risa doing such things to him, while Dark and Krad stood outside, charting the weather patterns as such. That or they were just keeping out of Emiko's way until she had calmed down.

Deciding that the best time to break the news of the assignment to the adults during breakfast, Dark had blabbed the entire story out before anyone could shut him up. Amazingly enough they had consented with the decision and Emiko had burst into tears, saying something about how Daisuke was now all grown up and that Risa needed to meet more people anyway; where the logic in this was, no one actually knew and didn't want to ask.

"Pity that we have to go so soon though," muttered Dark, more to himself than to the person next to him, "It's nice to be able to be in some sort of home once in a while. Although back at your place…" he edged a glance over in Krad's direction.

The blonde shrugged, "It was huge, but not worth my time. I would pay me dear parents a visit," he cringed inwardly, "but I doubt they would want to see you again and all. So let's not think too much about that."

"Roger," the purple-haired teen saluted, "How much longer do we have to wait until Dai-chan gets strangled to death?"

"Not too long. Now shut up and look over there."

"Where? The fields with the sheep?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Don't they remind you of anyone?"

"What? I'm lost now."

"I thought so. Forget I asked."

"Wai- are you referring to me as an animal again!.?"

"Moron, you are an animal."

"Kraaaaaaad--!"

Having changed into a tunic and pants, Risa plugged her ears as the older teen whined and whinged and all the other things he tended to do; that was, act like a child and definitely not his age. She had forgotten how loud and annoying the older teen could get if the mood got to him; and people thought she had odd mood swings. It was clearly going to be a long day for them, and that just wasn't with the little fact that they were going to go off and do something they didn't want to do. Well, she didn't want to do it, but the others… really.

Turning away, she stared listlessly at the sky, not knowing what else she could do at the very moment. Dark and Krad seemed to be arguing again, Daisuke was being strangled by his mother, and the two men of the house had already gone off to work in the fields. So that was about everything of excitement all around her and it was great. The sky was a dull-ish sort of blue-purple colour as the sun rose slowly in its own pace. Some random birds were bouncing from one place to another and sheep and cows and chickens as such were already wandering around with their owners.

Catching sight of a blue-haired figure approaching them, the brunette was glad for an excuse to walk away from the chaos in front of her. Bouncing over to meet them up the dusty track, she smiled brightly.

"Hi, Satoshi-kun," she chirped.

"Hi…"

"So, how'd it go?" Not caring about the fact that he wasn't all that talkative in the first place, Risa decided to continue the conversation. It was either that or watching Dark getting into another argument with Krad; after twenty of those in a row, the novelty of it wore out.

"My parents don't honestly give a damn on whether I go or not," he shrugged, walking towards the house in which Emiko's squealing could be clearly identified. "It's not like I'm very important in their eyes. As long as I'm not in the way."

Risa frowned, "How could they just say that…"

"That's the point; they didn't _say _anything." Satoshi stopped at this when he noticed the state that Daisuke was in, "Why is his mother…"

"She seems to be really happy that we're going to a cursed town," the brunette's frown increased and she sighed a little, a sudden breeze ruffling her hair, "I guess there's nothing we can do about it, right? So…"

The redhead noticed them and waved slightly, before somehow managing to get away from his mother and bounced over to meet them. Flushed and trying to recover his breath still, he smiled at them and cast a weary eye at the two arguing older teens.

"We've still got a good number of hours to hang around," he said happily, "Wanna just walk around? I want to talk to Towa-chan before we leave."

"I think I'll just explain the situation to my friends," Risa said nonchalantly, "And I don't think those two will let off from arguing anytime soon, so you two go on ahead." She waved them off happily and walked off after saying goodbye to Emiko. They watched as she walked off and the two boys exchanged glances before shrugging it off as nothing but the normal Risa-attitude.

Satoshi took Daisuke's hand and pulled him off, "I don't see why you want to talk to Towa so desperately."

"She's always been a good friend of mine," he explained simply, "And I'm certain that some of the things in the shop could be very useful. Dark and Krad are the only ones with actual weapons, remember?"

"I suppose…"

"Be back in two hours!" called Emiko, ignoring the fact that Krad was shaking Dark by the collar of his shirt, "So we can make sure that you're all sufficiently packed and ready to go!"

"Okay…" Daisuke sighed slightly as he and Satoshi made the long trek back to the village. It was still quite early in the day and the only sounds that could be heard were the low bleating of animals as they were led out to the fields for the day. Neither boy said a thing; merely enjoying the others company, seeing as they would probably be hounded by Dark for the rest of the assignment unless Krad found a way to shut him up. It had always been like that; the two older teens seemed to both cause trouble that they would soon after deal with, and the two younger ones sat on the sidelines and waited for the storm to pass over. Not that it was a bad thing all the time, but it was trying on their patience, really.

The redhead stopped suddenly as they reached the street in which the shop was located, and the blunette gave him a questioning look. "Daisuke?"

"Uh… it is really early in the morning right?" he asked slowly.

Satoshi raised an eyebrow at this, "Yeah…" Had he finally gone nuts or something?

"Then why are there so many people crowded around…?" the redhead pointed at the shop's entrance and, sure enough, it was literally packed with desperate people. Most of them looked like that of the higher social status and they seemed to be scared of something.

"I don't know…" it was really a scary sight to be witnessing. "Should we go to the back then?"

Daisuke nodded at this as they took a detour back around the lanes and roads. As they entered the back alleyway, the glamour and usual living conditions were instantly replaced by a rather depressing, dank area. Rubbish was tipped against both side and rats scuttled from one place to another. They averted their gaze as they hurried down to where the little door that made the back of the shop was located. The redhead stepped up and knocked on it hesitantly.

It opened instantly, and Towa beamed, although she looked strained, "I never thought you would be hanging around the back, of all places!" she said cheerily, "Come in before the rats decide to devour your eyes or something!"

"They would do that?" the redhead was completely disgusted by this piece of information as they were ushered in. The back of the store was definitely more cluttered than the front, but by the noises on the other side of the wall, it was easy to say that it was a mess already. The silver haired girl sat down on a closed box and indicated that the other two should follow suit.

"Of course they would," she said serenely, as they seated themselves gingerly, "Rats can be rather vicious, especially when it comes to the fact that they haven't eaten for a few days. It's really disgusting when you wake up, open a window and look down there. Not to mention the smell a good part of the time." She grimaced at this, before switching back to being cheerful, "So what brings you two here so early in the morning?"

There was a loud crash in the shop's main room and Daisuke flinched, "Why are there so many people coming here all of a sudden, might I ask?"

Towa pursed her lips, "Superstition. They all think that some illness tidal wave is going to hit them really soon and their belief is that the items here can protect them. Of course, none of them know anything about the products in here, and I doubt that it's anything we should be worried about. It's good for business, but really…"

"Superstition?" Satoshi, who had been staring at the ceiling, glanced over in her direction, "Of what?"

She shrugged at this, "They don't really clarify it. But whatever it is it's making them panic a lot. Even though it's not all that much into the day still…"

"I see…" his mind flicked off as he thought about this odd occurrence and this left the redhead to explain the situation to the shop assistant/friend.

"--So now we have to go whether we like it or not, so yeah," he finished, shaking his head. The chaos and noise had finally begun to dwindle and it was a lot easier to think now. "I don't know why he's so desperate for us to do this, but I don't like the idea. We're not professionals at this sort of thing, although Dark and Krad might have something in that field, but really--"

"Maybe it has something to with the sacrifice."

"'The' sacrifice?" the redhead repeated, baffled.

"What, did I say that? I meant a sacrifice, or sacrifices," Towa clarified, "I mean, think about it. apparently it's a very dangerous and cursed town, right? Or so they say and all that, and wouldn't it be best to use a group of people that are easily disposed of?"

Daisuke shifted on his seat; that was, a cardboard box that seemed to thrum with contained magic, "I don't think sending Krad with us would be a good idea then. His parents are the lord of this entire village and I don't even Argentine-san would do something like that."

"Well, you never know." She said calmly, waving a finger under his nose, "He does seem the sort who would send anyone to the chop if they couldn't protect themselves or something. But I am going to miss you. Some of the people who come here are so boring." She turned on her seat and began to shuffle through some of the boxes, "But before you go, I've something for you."

"Eh?"

She pulled it out triumphantly. "Ta-dah!"

He stared at it, "…What is it?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" she dumped the item she had earthed out into his hand and then leaned back, smiling, "But I can say that it may be useful. It seems to have the magical properties right, so you should be able to work it out."

"Uh… thanks…"

Satoshi slipped back into reality in time to witness this and resisted the urge to roll his eyes; that was Towa for you.

---

"Hey Krad."

"Yeah?"

"Are you worried?"

"Should I be?"

"I don't know."

Dark sighed and wrapped his arms around himself, staring blankly at the fields before him. People are hard at work and didn't bother to look up, and Krad – who was sitting next to him – seemed to be more occupied with his handgun than with anything else. They had both come to the concluding argument of what Dark was sometime after Daisuke, Satoshi and Risa had run off, and Emiko was currently indoors sorting their clothes out for some reason. Her motherly affection stretched out far beyond words and it was kind of scary sometimes.

The blonde glanced over to his boyfriend, who seemed to have zoned out after their brief conversation. Thoughts ran through his head; most of them wondering why Dark would ask whether he was worried or not. Sure, this was going to be something they had never dealt with before, but it couldn't be any harder, right? He doubted that, anyway.

A lively breeze picked up, making the trees rustle and sway in a northerly direction. Neither boy said anything, but their quiet companionship and understanding was enough for the two of them, and that was all that mattered.

---

Arms folded across her chest with one eyebrow raised, Risa waited for her friends to get over the initial shock they were currently experiencing. Having avoided naming the town itself, it seemed that just leaving the place was enough to give them a heart attack of some sort.

Ten minutes later found them still gaping soundlessly at her.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… So?" the brunette finally prompted.

This seemed to jerk them all out of their stupor and they cried in unison, "You're going to dieeeeeeeeee!"

Risa rolled her eyes at this, and sighed.

---

Later in the day found the five back at Daisuke's house, all carrying their share of the supplies and being given advice by one Emiko. Most of the advice being 'don't eat anything rotten' and 'have baths as often as possible'.

When they finally found themselves out of her clutches, they tramped over to the stables in which the horses were waiting for them. Krad led the way.

"What happens if we can't feed them?" Dark asked curiously, keeping up with the blonde up front.

"What happens if you're a complete idiot?" came the snorted reply.

"Are they going to be like this the whole time?" groaned Risa.

"It's their way of communicating," Daisuke explained helpfully.

"And the only way to show affection," added Satoshi, as they watched Dark being hit over the head.

"Oi, shut up!" snapped the purple-haired teen as he rubbed the back of his head. "We haven't got long before we have to reach the gates." He held up his left wrist to show some sort of watch-contraption, and as soon as Krad caught sight of it, he swore.

"Come on," he commanded, quickening the pace. Confusing, Dark glanced at it as well and blinked slowly.

"Oh… we're already late…"

---

Uh… I can't remember everything that happened, except that there's more to Daisuke then we might have first thought. Uhm… telepathy seems pretty straightforward (I hope) so yeah, if anything else is bothering you, you know you can just ask.

Reviewer replies:

neko-nya: Ghosts will never leave us alone… how about poltergiests(sp?)? They're supposed to be very annoying things. XD Telepathy is a way to intrude on people's minds and apparently it's a great way to pass the time as well :P

Hakudoshi-chan: XD

Koway Oceshia:D Very accurate in what's happening, ne? But there's a reason for certain things going on… although there is a chance of me not knowing what I'm on about… (sweat drop)

Hell's Sorrow: Aw… thank you so much for reviewing; it makes me feel special now. :P I'm glad you like it… I don't think it's all that amazing… but I like the plot… (blinks)

xpechiex: Ooers… I have a tendency to repeat phrases and stuff a lot. Cute? o.O I would have thought of it as annoying, actually XO Thanks for the tips and all and the advice, it really helps (loves to ramble on, though) and I have that problem with not enough description a good part of the time, and loads of talking (sweat drop). Most of my original fics are on hiatus or something… or I'm just too laze. Thanks again!

Angel Born of Darkness: Uhm… I just call it force of habit; whether it's me or Daisuke, I no longer know. I mean, in both anime and manga, he has that thing with using –kun, -san and –chan around the place, depending on the people, and I think it's just part of his character now. And he and Satoshi were aquainances at first, so it just stuck, even when they went into first-name-terms. As for the lines in italic in the last chapter… yeah, you could call it that. It's like a… narration or something of what he's heard/encountered, so yeah?

Sori of Chrome Dragon: Okay, I'm going to call him that from now on; I guess using blue-haired all the time kinda messed up the sentences and made it longer than usual, right? Must be just me though. Thanks for reading my story; I'm touched :D

And for the kindness of all the people out there, you get cookies and plushies cause I feel like it XD XD XD Keep reviewing so I know how it's going in the eyes of the public!


	7. Chapter Six: Acquaintance

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Six: Acquaintance ---

Pulling the reigns just slightly to keep his horse at a mild trot, Risa looked around her, although there wasn't exactly much to see at the moment. As they had just reached the town itself, the only difference she would agree to was her current view; and the fact that she didn't like horses. Too high creatures… cantering along and trotting and all the usual stuff that horses do… it was just too much for the brunette. She liked to be on firm ground and that was a final fact; but no, this was very important and they had to get there fast.

The other four seemed not to care though, she thought sulkily as she shifted her weight in an attempt to get more comfortable in her position, probably because they had to ride horses more than she did. It was just insane and she just didn't like it and if she had been allowed to, she would just start complaining. But something in the back of her mind told her that Krad wouldn't like that one bit, and he seemed to be at the edge of sanity and insanity, and she didn't want to be the reason for him going insane; leave that to Dark.

As it was, strangely enough Dark was actually taking the situation seriously, not saying anything as they focused on getting out without charging into innocent people. Witnessing this was scary upon itself, but that wasn't the time to be thinking about it.

Both Daisuke and Satoshi seemed to be lost in thought and told her nothing. So there she was, sulking to herself and still in complete bafflement as to why she was there in the first place and what the reason was anyway and she was annoyed and confused and all those other emotions that girls usually get when they're not really used to be being shoved into their doom with no way to protect oneself.

The redhead, who had been staring at the moving ground for quite some time now, glanced up and noticed that Risa was pouting. He smiled slightly at this, before turning back again, and allowed his mind to wander off some more. One of the many questions that plagued his thoughts was; who was really their guide, what were they supposed to do about it, and all that. Another one was just how long would it take for them to get there? It was going to be hard to say, as no one ever talked of its exact location in the end.

Not only that but the constant visits he'd received from the voices … those things that screamed and begged for help but would never receive it. They were in constant turmoil and it hurt him almost as much as it hurt them. His empathy was probably stronger than most people, and placing that with magic abilities and the result was rather… well, whatever it was, it wasn't enough to worry him to tell anyone about it yet.

He shuddered unconsciously and shoved the thought out of his head, focusing his attention on where they were going and noticed that someone completely swathed in dark-cotton-brown fabric on a horse was by the only entrance and exit of the town. The towering walls that actually surrounded the entire town and the farms reminded him of the fact that the dangers out there were more serious than one would have thought; and that did not just include the bandits and thieves around. Survival of the fittest, it was, and if they got eaten by monsters, it was their own loss.

Krad sped up just slightly to meet the waiting figure, "You must be Akane then." He stated shortly. The figure pulled the hood down and nodded, her eyes unblinking so that it was unnerving. Not that the blonde showed any signs of discomfort; traveling around certainly helped with his nerves and all.

"And you must be the squad that I asked Argentine to send forth," she glanced back at the other four and then shrugged, "And Harada Risa-san is here, correct," this she focused on the brunette, who swallowed nervously and nodded. There was something about this girl that didn't feel right; what, she didn't know. "Well, then, we have a lot of ground to cover if you want to get there as soon as possible and deal with the matter. Let's go."

"Wait, don't we get to ask you any questions?" Dark demanded, "Krad and I just got back and already we're being shipped off again! How is that justice, may I ask?"

Akane raised her eyebrows at this while Krad hit his forehead in frustration, "This is a very serious matter that needs to be dealt with immediately. You must know that, surely."

"But it's not fair!"

"When has anything in this world ever been fair?"

"…"

"Well, I haven't formerly introduced myself either; how rude of me," there was something mocking her words as she bowed slightly on her horse, "Takada Akane, Shadow Elementalist, at your service. I shall be your guide to Rutile. Pleased to meet you."

"Hikari Krad, Mousy Dark, Niwa Daisuke, Hiwatari Satoshi and Harada Risa," the blonde rattled off, pointing to each person in turn. They all bowed back, save Dark and Akane inclined her head just slightly in curiosity. "I guess you could call us professionals in this business, save for Harada, and we're curious as to why she has to come with us in the first place."

"Yes, I know that much," the redhead-brunette turned her steed around thoughtfully, "But we really must be off already. As for your questions, I'll answer them when we make camp."

"Why can't we just talk while riding?" demanded Dark, earning a sharp poke from Satoshi, who seemed to be getting really fed up with it all.

"Because I need to make sure we're heading in the right direction, for one thing," she answered coldly, frowning at him, "You might not know it, but it's nearly a one in a million chance to find that town without a guide. Now shut up and let's move out."

Satoshi frowned at this while Dark grumbled in front of him. Something was odd, that was for sure, and it was not just the fact that this person was going to be their guide to this place. And the fact that she didn't look like the sort of person that should have been out of the house in the first place. Her looks clearly defined her as someone of the upper-class: the sort of people who allowed others to do all the work for them, and not the other way around, and the idea of leaving the house unaccompanied terrified them.

Or he was just overanalyzing the situation again; he seemed to do that quite a bit and the results in the end weren't all that pleasant, true. But there was definitely something about that person that was beginning to irk him, despite the fact that they had only met her for less then five minutes.

The blunette chose to place these thoughts in the back of his mind and followed the others out of the town that he had been brought up in since birth.

---

Looking around himself and taking in the scenery, Daisuke had to admit that it wasn't really all that exciting. Fields, wild plants creeping around the place, and incredibly dusty roads that intertwined with each other made up the most of the area, along with the oddly shaped rock that didn't make much sense or anything. Although it probably wasn't supposed to make sense, but whatever in the end. They were there and their meanings usually baffled him.

For the past few hours they had done nothing but ride, walk, and didn't even talk all that much. Dark and Krad seemed to be used to this sort of traveling, to an extent, but Risa in particular wasn't liking it at all and made constant complaints about it; no one listened to her, naturally, and it wasn't exactly the best way to start a conversation anyway.

Heat from the sun beat down on them like waves, and it was around noon that Akane finally called for a halt around a large place that seemed to be full of nothing but trees; well, at least they would have some shade and all.

"We're going to have to cross this forest after we've recovered, because you never know what's going to attack you next," she explained, despite the fact that they hadn't even seen any sort of creature that seemed capable of attacking, "We'll also have to move quite quickly to prove as lesser targets and if all goes well, then we shouldn't have any problem at all."

Dark snorted out loud at this and Krad raised an eyebrow, one hand ready to gag the purple-haired teen in case he tried to say something incredibly stupid; "And what makes you think that it's going to be an easy ride in the first place?"

She didn't even turn to reply to his question, "I suppose you doubting my word says a lot about what you think of me, but trust me; don't pay attention and you're as good as dead, even if you have been traveling for four years."

"…"

"And if this has anything with my gender, then I advise you to drop that thought as well, because when we get to Rutile, you'll be learning a few lessons of your own," she spun at this, a thin smile crossing her features, and then it switched back to something akin to neutral. Leading her horse into the shade of the entrance to the forest, she completely ignored them as they exchanged bewildered glances before eventually following her lead.

"Satoshi-kun, you know…" Daisuke started in a low voice, as his boyfriend turned to face him, "Uhm…"

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Kinda… I mean…" the redhead fidgeted for a moment, stopping short and his horse snorted in frustration, "I don't know… it's just some queasy feeling that something isn't exactly right… or something. But… uhm…"

"Takada?"

"No, I mean, yeah, she is a bit strange and I'm getting an odd vibe from her, but it might just be the fact that she's an elementalist," he shook his head in frustration, "I think it's more the feeling that we're actually going to Rutile… like something horrible is going to happen when we get there… like we're not supposed to be there at all to disturb the spirits there…"

Satoshi blinked at this; great, not it seemed that Daisuke had gone slightly crazy on him again. Just the trip itself was bound to cause trouble. "I'm sure we'll be fine; we do this sort of thing all the time back home, right? And it's not like we're doing anything to _them_, just trying to find the cause of all of it." He didn't get a reply for this and Daisuke sighed. "It'll be fine, Daisuke, trust me." He held out his hand.

Gnawing his bottom lip, the redhead knew that as much as he wanted to trust that, his senses said otherwise. Yet the knowledge that he wasn't about to be abandoned by his boyfriend, for one thing, and that his closest friends would be there, reassured him and he managed a smile, taking Satoshi's hand, "Okay then."

Having come to some form of conclusion at that (although Satoshi was suspicious about the hesitation shown) and they joined the two girls who were preparing one thing or another. The redhead looked about, "Where are Dark and Krad anyway?"

"Dark-kun was going on about needing time to clear his mind," Risa explained calmly, "and Krad-kun decided that it would be best that he didn't go alone, so he just joined him and they left. They promised to come back soon, though."

"Ah, okay then." Tying the reigns of their horses securely where the others were located, the two boys took a seat and lapsed into silence; which did not last long as the brunette began to question their guide.

"So, Takada-san, when did you start traveling anyway?"

"Me? Well," Akane seemed slightly shocked at this question, but answered it, "about the past four years, I have to say. Although that is just a rough estimate. I move around a lot and all, so it's hard to keep track anymore."

"Eeeh? But what about your family?" Risa's eyes widened.

The redheaded-brunette shrugged lightly, suddenly intent on staring at the trunk of a tree rather than at the others around her, "They passed away when I was seven. No one seems to know the cause of it, though, and I was put into an orphanage for the next three years or so. Of course, once I discovered my magical talent, people didn't want to be around me, so I left and have traveled ever since."

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

Inclining his head to one side, Daisuke couldn't help but attempt to try and read between the lines of it all. There was definitely a lot more to it than what they were being told, and although he knew that they didn't even know each other to her, really, it just didn't… sound right. Not to mention that Satoshi was scowling next to him and seemed to be in a like mind. He was about to say something – whether it was interrogation or just another random question – it was immediately cut short as a loud gunshot was heard deeper within the forest and they could see birds taking flight in surprise.

"What was that?" Risa jerked up in surprise, but Akane pulled her down again.

"Actually, I think the question is who was that," Satoshi corrected her calmly, his scowl now focused on where the birds had come from, "Definitely sounded like something that either Dark or Krad had on them, don't you think?"

He glanced over at Daisuke, who nodded, "Takada-san… did Dark and Krad go _into_ the forest when they left?"

"I wasn't really paying all that much attention, but I think so," their guide turned to face the entrance of the forest and shook her head, "If they have gone in, I'd go against going after them."

"What?.! Why?" the brunette nest to her looked appalled at this decision and Daisuke looked ready to stand up, but, surprisingly enough, Satoshi stopped him and gave Akane a look that read that he was in agreement with her decision.

"It's too dangerous to go in there, especially if we don't know where they are; or how deep they've gone in," the blunette stated bluntly to the other two, who were shocked, "Besides, we both know that those two are able to take care of themselves, so we should just wait."

"But Satoshi-kun…"

"The last thing I need is to see the rest of us in any sort of harm."

"…"

"But what if they get hurt badly?" asked Risa, still looking distressed, wincing as another gunshot was heard, "Then how are we supposed to know and what do we do?"

Akane stood up at this, brushing on hand over the rough bark of a trunk; "I don't think even they could be in that much danger. Just wait a moment, and it'll be fine." She smiled slightly at this, as if amused, and then turned back at the shadows of the forest once more.

---

"Out of the way!" snapped Krad, aiming the barrel of his shotgun and firing it, just as Dark managed to spring out of the way. Nearly colliding into the base of another thick tree, the purple-haired teen mumbled something under his breath.

"I'm assuming that this is the reason as to why we were told not to go in here?" he asked, cracking a humoress grin before firing off his own weapon at whatever it was attacking them. It was hard to tell, as it was pitch black and all; and it was a miracle that neither teen had killed the other yet. Or it was just luck, they didn't know anymore.

As it was, whatever that was attacking them was making a lot of noise and being a nuisance towards them, although the loud noise was definitely a good indication of its current position. Krad snorted slightly as he reloaded. "Funny how slow your mind seems to work a good half of the time. And that's why you should listen to people smarter than you as well."

"Very funny."

They were forced back into the attack as the creature smashed into another tree; coming after them.

---

_The link that brought them together would one day tear them apart; that was what was said about them all. Nothing could change it, no one seemed to care, and all those who opposed to it died in the end. There was no use denying fate._

_And that was why that very town…_

"… -kada-san?"

"Hm?" Akane glanced up, noticing that the three present exchanged odd glances at one another, "I'm sorry there; I must have been thinking too deeply again."

"Right," the redhead nodded at this, as if understanding. Akane blinked at this, waiting for the question to pop up; "So… what exactly is a shadow elementalist? I mean, I've heard of the basic ones and all, but this one I've never come across…"

Of course the Niwa's had been connected to magic for a long time, it was clear to see; and it wasn't like telling them was going to hurt them in any way. "Like every other elementalist, the shadow type only controls that source. Because it's such a rare case, most people don't even know that it exists at all and it's actually quite useful for both attack and defense. The origins of it, however, is probably the same with any other element, so there isn't' much to say about it."

He seemed thoughtful at this. Yeah, he would probably take it all in and consider it the exact truth.

Alter the truth, alter the truth…

That was what she always did. No matter who it was or what the situation was, she would always have to clean it up a bit for better hearing. It was best not to scare them off before the actual mission, and she hated people panicking.

Just living a lie…

Yes, that would explain a bit about her as well. Some things were better left untouched and much better off than what was going on now.

If those damn fools hadn't done such a thing in the first place… maybe, just maybe, Rultile would have been spared.

And the innocents would have had a chance to live and prosper.

Damn them all.

"So that would mean you can control all the shadows around us," stated Satoshi, who jerked her out of her thoughts. His eyes were narrowed, as if daring for her to lie about something. Perceptive, yes, and it was clear that his trust in her was only just that bit more than that other guy's… Dark, was it? Hmph, whatever.

"Yes, but it does take up a lot of energy, so it's best to hold out until it's needed," she shrugged. He continued to give her that look.

Be nonchalant; don't say more than necessary…

Any other questions that were asked were all forgotten as both Dark and Krad suddenly crashed out of nowhere, the blonde nursing what looked like an injured arm. Risa was up instantly, the other two following, and Akane stood up too, but did not approach them.

"I need to get an overview of the land," she muttered, somewhat mechanically, before leaving them to their tasks. She didn't wait for them to answer, didn't expect them to actually say anything at all, and it didn't really matter.

Nothing really did, in the end.

---

Taking a seat, Dark watched as their guide walked off, "What's up with her?"

"I don't know," admitted Daisuke, "And it's really hard to say. I know we always thought that she was a bit odd, but this time… it's more like… something else. She's not telling us the exact truth, for one thing; and that really worries me."

Krad winced as Risa tightened the bandage around his arm; "Are you trying to say that she might betray us in the end? Or won't take us to Rutile?"

"Maybe, who knows."

"No, I don't think even she would do that," Satoshi shook his head at the blonde, "I'd just say that she's not telling us something. Whether it's a warning or something else, I'm not all that sure about. What I'm questioning is her elemental ability. Is there even such thing as a shadow element?"

The blonde looked over at his partner, who frowned, "We've heard of it, but there're very few places where one can get information on it. Even mages don't seem to want to talk about it much."

"Why?"

"They don't say. The most we've gotten from them is a mumbling excuse that shadows should be left alone and all that usual junk."

"…"

They plunged into another bout of thinking, no one knowing what would become of them next. But they didn't get have to wait more than an hour before Akane came back and re-saddled her horse. "Let's go then; we're running out of time."

---

This actually has to be the worst chapter I've written lately. And I don't mean… whatever. I mean, it's just that mental block you get and it's like too hard to write what you want down. But now that that's done, I can try to continue it without too much trouble… hopefully.

The group should reach the town in approx. two chapters, if we're lucky.

Reviewer replies:

neko-nya: ghosts can't stop mocking us. Makes me wonder what the actual cursed town's going to be like… XD telepathy is very dangerous business, though, isn't it? I mean, if you're trying to control a rather large body of matter… :P

Angel Born of Darkness: Sorry for being so slow (bonks head) I have horrible writer's block a good half of the time so yeah. I'll _try_ to make updates faster, but I'd rather not put my head in the noose again with hollow promises…

Hakudoshi-chan: Thanks—

Snowy Leopardess: I'm glad you decided to give this a try :D Thanks for the review--!


	8. Chapter Seven: Passing

Disclaimers: DNAngel does not belong to me and… yeah.

--- The Night Never Ends ---

--- Chapter Seven: Passing ---

All around them were trees, trees, and more trees. That and the shadows, but that was nothing new to them now. After traveling for half an hour and the gloomy, depressing air was beginning to overwhelm them. The worn-out trail was the only thing leading them the way, and how Akane was able to see it in the first place was a wonder.

A faint glow of yellow was emitted from the light that hovered around them slowly, as if in a trance. Krad watched it carefully, making sure that his spell would hold out; Dark had suggested the idea of lamps, but it had been squashed out at an instant because of the threat of accidentally setting something alight and burning the entire forest down.

Dark, of course, had then muttered that burning it down wouldn't be a bad idea, but Akane had pointed out that, because everyplace had something, or someone, living within it, disturbing the peace was out of the question. And starting a mad bushfire of sorts was plain insanity; unless he wanted to be haunted by spirits for the rest of his living – and dying – days.

So all that accompanied them was the silence, and the fact that enemies could be lurking in every shadow, which was a lot, considering the fact that they were in the middle of a forest that clearly didn't want them disturbing the peace. Risa shifted nervously on her saddle, the urge of looking around to gather her surroundings strongly countered by not wanting to look unless it attracted attention from people or things they didn't want to meet.

Of course, this meant that no one was speaking and the whole heavy-silence setting was beginning to get a little too heavy for her. Daisuke seemed to notice this because he turned around to give her a reassuring smile; which she returned weakly. Although she knew that she was with people she could trust, it was still hard to shake the horrid feeling off.

Her eyes trailing over the flora that surrounded them like a smoldering blanket, Akane mentally mapped their current position and swore slightly under her breath. At the rate they were going, they could be here for days, weeks even. But she couldn't force them to dash recklessly into the undergrowth because of the natural threat the forest caused.

If she'd been on her own it would have been easier, but they were _needed_ in this mission. And there was no way she was going to let them die in this one place. Not that it would completely matter in the end, but the thought of people's deaths hanging over her head wasn't great either.

She shook her head firmly at this, dispelling the thoughts and looked over at the glimmering ball of light that the blonde had conjured. They had power, it was obvious, although they never seemed to talk about it. And with this power was responsibility… Risa had it too, despite what they might have decided about her already.

And yet, they were a lot stronger than they truly knew it. Well, she wasn't about to tell them; let them learn on their own.

"So how far does this forest go for?" asked Satoshi, finally breaking the silence around them. Akane inclined her head, wondering if she should completely answer the question, or to give him a half-answer to it, seeing as it was really hard to be completely accurate.

"It depends," she finally said, shrugging, "I'd tell you all to pick up the pace, but it might get a little dirty." And she wasn't just referring to the mud and dirt that could be disturbed by the horses' hooves. On the whole, she would have told them to leave the creatures behind, but the traveling after the forest could be insanely tedious without a fast way to travel.

Frowning at her reply, Satoshi, who was at the very back of the line, considered her answer; 'It depends' really didn't say a lot, but it seemed clear enough that it would take a while before they saw the sky again. He glanced up, the thick foliage trapping any sight of the sun's rays; it was nearly impossible to tell whether it was day or night, truth be told.

Not to mention that there was something about this forest he seriously didn't trust. Okay, sure, it was dark, full of trees, and with almost no light, a disadvantage to them if they were attacked, but there was something else that made him wonder. There was something he couldn't completely put his finger on. A lingering presence…

He wanted to talk to Daisuke about the matter, but because they were in single file, it was almost impossible to hold any sort of conversation and Risa was in between the redhead and himself anyway. Dark and Krad were in front of them and Akane, naturally, was leading the way. Although, even from here, he could hear the purple-haired teen muttering under his breath about one thing or another.

It was strange, though, to see Dark so… well, unhinged because of Akane. As far as he knew, the guy had always had his way and never gave a damn as such and not even large, forbidding monsters had the capability to get on his nerves. So what was it about her that made him any different? The hostility was definitely there.

Considering the possibilities, Satoshi couldn't find any good conclusions that would make complete sense. Everyone seemed a little edgy anyway, yet still…

Okay, he really had to stop thinking about all this, but there wasn't anything else he could do at the moment either way and if this was a great way to distract oneself and probably be considered insane in the end… well… whatever. On went life.

Satoshi stopped his mindless, and rather aimless, thinking, when a slight sound of movement other than their horses and their breathing managed to catch his ear. It had been a sharp, rather unhumanly-plantly sound and he didn't like it. And by the reactions of the rest of them, they'd heard it too.

"Damn…" muttered Akane, pulling the reigns to a halt. "Looks like we're not about to get out here without some fight."

"What is it?" asked Krad.

"…" she smirked just slightly, but her face was turned away from them so they couldn't see it, "the shadows."

As if these words were a trigger, suddenly the entire forest around them came to life. Shapeless blobs that they couldn't identify flashed by them and the horses reared in panic. Akane snapped something out, but everyone was too preoccupied trying to clamber off safely to hear what she was saying. Risa's foot was snagged by the stirrups and Daisuke hurried over to help her down.

"What the hell?.!" Dark ducked as another thing sped by them, "How are you supposed to hit them if they move so fast?.!"

"We've got to get the horses out of here first!" Krad yelled, trying to keep his down as it whinnied in fear.

"Go on," muttered Akane, from the front, patting her own horse calmly, "get the others out." The creature's eyes, reflecting serenity, blinked down at her and she sighed, "We'll be fine, trust me." She winced as something sliced by her, leaving a shallow cut on her arm. She pulled out a small, metallic object and turned back to her horse, "Go!"

It wasn't long before all their horses had galloped off, leaving the humans to deal with the problems on their own. "Krad!" Daisuke called over from where he and Risa were, keeping low, "We need more light or something! You can barely see anything!"

The brunette gave a squeak of dismay as she heard something fly over her. She couldn't see anything, even if her hands hadn't been covering her eyes and the fact that Daisuke was more or less shielding her from the danger. But the sounds were terrifying enough, and when the bullets began to fly.

"How the hell can shadows do that?" Satoshi muttered, more to himself than anything else, "There wasn't even that much light…" he dodged something that flew past him, "It's not right…"

"This forest is, needless to say, charged with magic. In some cases, an illusion."

Turning and narrowly avoiding another sharp, flying object, as Krad's spell swelled, the blunette could make out Akane's face as she stood some distance behind him. She seemed to be holding some sort of necklace in her hand but he couldn't see how that was supposed to work.

Dark shot off another round of bullets to no avail, "What do you mean an illusion? It looks plenty real to me at the moment!"

"What I mean is that anyone without any magic potential wouldn't be aware of the dangers if they went in here," she replied coolly, stopping a moment to avoid an attack, "but I'll tell you later. For now we need a balance of light and dark."

Daisuke, who had begun to cast a simple spell and was now sending off odd, dark green bolts, looked over at her, "A balance? How?"

"I've already got the light going," this time, it was Krad who replied, who seemed to have caught a hold of what the plan – or lack thereof – was. "Dark, it's your turn."

"What?" the purple-haired teen seemed appalled at the idea, "But you know the backlash I get from it in the end!"

"Just do it! It might be the only way."

Grumbling, and while they all suffered a majority of small cuts, Dark did as he was told grudgingly and the two spells began to mould into each other, giving an odd lighting affect. Risa uncovered her hands and glanced up at them, blinking.

"What the…?"

Swinging the metal chain by her side, Akane began to mutter under her breath. A thin whistle began to emit from the whirling object and all those present instantly noticed a change in the atmosphere. There was something heavy around them, something that both threatened to save them and suffocate them. Something both good and evil… yet neither. Something they couldn't completely identify, even if they wanted to.

Time seemed to slow down with the shadows movements, seemed to falter and flicker uncertainly, and the muttering and the whistling was all that was truly left in the end. The elementalist held up her free hand for a moment, still muttering, and a swirl of dark energy appeared for but a moment before evaporating into the surroundings.

Then… silence.

Before anyone could move, however, there was a sudden crash behind them and the atmosphere disintegrated in an instant.

"Now what…" groaned Dark, clearly getting highly peeved off it all.

Akane rubbed her wrist for a moment, the chain coming to a complete stop and just hanging there, like the piece of metal it was supposed to be. She muttered something under her breath as everyone else got up and began to nurse their wounds. Suddenly she seemed to snap out of it and clapped her hands together, wincing lightly.

"We have to move on now. If we stay here, they might regroup and try to attack again." She frowned, turning her eyes to the light that was now left on its own, "I can't believe they tried to do that in the first place… are we not wanted?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Daisuke, rubbing his arms for a moment as he cast a simple healing spell for the rest of them.

"Oh, nothing," she stepped forwards, "The horses are gathered at the edge of the forest, and if I did the second spell correctly, we can get out of here in about two hours at the least."

Krad hurried forward to catch up to her, before muttering under his breath, "Second spell?"

"Just a little time-manipulation," shrugged Akane, "or, to put it more correctly, forest-manipulation. There's a couple of shortcuts that can help us, so you shouldn't be complaining."

"… You're not human, are you?"

"People have been asking me that for years now."

Daisuke, Risa and Satoshi witnessed the quiet exchange between the blonde and their guide before Dark got in the way and began an argument with all three of them.

"So are you sure you're okay, Risa-chan?" the redhead asked, glancing over to her. She seemed a little shaken, but was almost completely unscathed. He frowned in concern when she shook her head furiously, not saying anything. The suspicion was that she felt that if she decided to open her mouth, words wouldn't be coming out.

"We'll be out soon, though," Satoshi reminded her, "and by the sounds of it, we should be okay. But those things that attacked us…"

"What about them?"

"How is it possible for shadows? Where's the reality? What's going on?" the blunette glanced over to meet Daisuke's eyes, "Something's telling me that these 'shadows' aren't the only ones behind it in the end. Although what it could be, I have no idea."

"And then there was that crash," agreed the mage, "None of us know what resides in this place and it's so dangerous for us to be here. I want to trust our guide, but that feeling…"

Daisuke fell silent at this, thinking it over again. Yes, she was strange; yes, she had powers that were beyond, well, his own knowledge, and he knew a lot about magic because of his heritage and upbringing. Not to mention her little 'story' was hard to completely believe as well. All in all, he was just plain confused. And he absolutely hated having to walk around in the dark at a time like this.

"Feeling?" repeated Risa uncertainly, seemingly coming to terms with being able to speak without having to empty her stomach contents.

"Well, we're all in agreement that she's a little… odd."

"Yeah, so? It's like people calling me odd."

"Hm… it's not exactly the same…"

None of those walking on the path noticed that they were being watched. The spectator calculated their process before leaving, the light rustling of leaves being the only indicator that they had been there. Satoshi turned, but there was no one in sight.

---

The small group managed to get out of the forest without too much disturbance, although everyone was tottering over the edge of paranoia by the time they had exited and even the soft trill of a bird was enough to make them jump.

As they set up camp, Akane left off and was soon back with their horses. She answered their unspoken questions at the arrival: "We came about a couple points away from the main trail and these horses are incredibly intelligent so they must have waited for us. I'm going to go on and scout ahead, okay? Won't be long."

"Hey, how long will it take us to get there anyway?" Dark asked, looking up from his kindling.

"We've actually taken the shortest route, so two or three days at the least. The most I'd say is five days. I'm just looking out for any tell-tale signs of danger and landmarks." The redheaded-brunette swiped at her hair for a moment before leaving, allowing the rest of the group some time to talk it all over.

"I think we're all in instant agreement that she's a little odd." Was the first thing out of Krad's mouth, "What we don't know is her intentions. Is she really doing this because someone told her to? Or is it somehow to her own benefit?"

"How could going to Rutile benefit her?" Dark raised an eyebrow, unable to work it out.

"Maybe she had family there or something…?" suggested Risa.

Satoshi shook his head at that, "Can't have been. Everyone was killed and it's nearly been a century. More, probably. No one knows the exact date. And she can't be any older than the rest of us."

"You have a point, and that's what's confusing me," the blonde frowned, as Daisuke put tinder to flint to start a small fire, "Maybe she's a hit-man for an enemy of ours. Not that it makes any more sense, but still…"

"And then there's the strange vibes," the redhead added.

"Exactly."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"Just go along for it for now, I suppose. Just don't drop your guard and always be ready for an ambush because until we know her reasoning behind this, I don't want us to die out here."

They fell silent at this and continued setting up camp and making sure that their horses were comfortable until Akane came back, claiming that everything looked fine for the time being. After working out everyone's night watch shift, they bunked down for the night in unknown country.

Something about that wasn't exactly comfortable.

---

"So what was all that this afternoon? Were you trying to get us all killed?"

"Look, it may seem that way…"

There was the sound of someone being knocked into a tree and Akane shook her head, fist still raised.

"Zeike, this is serious. I can't believe you would do that, they might finally be the ones to put the spirits to rest!"

Rubbing his cheek, Zeike winced as he used the trunk for support to stand, "How? They couldn't even fight against what I summoned and they were basic spells!"

"An illusion, if not expected, is always deadly." She hissed back.

The two were standing a little away from the actual campsite, Akane having left her post to meet up and reprimand him. The sky was completely clear that night and stars sprinkled like crystals suspended in mid-air.

"But we've sent so many people over and they've always failed. What makes them any different?"

"It's different," Akane shook her head, "I just know it. But do that again, Zeike, and I won't hesitate to use all of my strength in one blow. Remember that, will you?"

She left before he could say another word.

"Where were you?"

Akane blinked, instantly recognizing the speaker through their blue hair. "I had to look at the constellations, if you're really so curious to know. I wasn't gone long and it's been particularly peaceful at the moment."

Satoshi frowned at her, "And why would you need to see that?"

"I have my own personal reasons," she shrugged half-heartedly, "not to mention that it's going to rain sometime late afternoon, so we should look for cover--"

"Takada."

"… What?"

"How is it that you know where Rutile is when no one else has even been there? And even those who stumbled upon it could never locate their exact position."

"…"

"What are your intentions for this quest we're being thrown into?"

"…"

The camp fire flickered in between them.

"What are you trying to do?"

"The spirits need to be put to rest after an eternity of endless pain," Akane turned away, "And as for how I know where it is… well, after a long time of researching the rumors and having nowhere to go home to, what more can I say?"

"A lot."

"Well, Hiwatari-kun, maybe it'd be best to say that you may find your answers at Rutile," she smiled slightly at this before calculating the position of the moon, "Well, it looks like my shift's over anyway. It's your turn." She swept into the tent without another word.

Satoshi stared at the flames of the fire, its warmth doing very little to quell his mood.

There was definitely something up.

---

"_What is that you want in the end?"_

"_I want… I want…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_I want… this all to end. I want it to be over."_

"_You know it cannot. It's impossible now. Nothing can change fate. No one…"_

"_How do you know if you've never tried?"_

"…"

"_Everyone I loved is gone, I have nothing left in this world, but I have to go on. I have to find a purpose to keep living, otherwise there's no use. No point trying. As stupid as it sounds, it's the only way now."_

"_Are you a fool?"_

"_Do you want this? Do you want innocent people to keep suffering? It's not going to end if we just leave it be! I can't allow it to happen!"_

"_Even if it kills you."_

"…"

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but it seemed only moments later that it was morning again, the chill of dawn being something she tended to experience every other morning.

Staring at the top of the tent, Akane mused. That little conversation had etched itself into her mind, and part of her wanted to laugh at it. The other part wanted to break down and cry.

They thought her weird, they didn't trust her, it was all the same, every time. It never changed.

But this time…

"Takada-san?" there was the soft swish sound of the tent and she sat up in time to see Risa peering somewhat concernedly at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… why?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

"… It's nothing. Really."

"Okay…"

So many things to do, not enough time. Akane smiled at the thought as she finally pulled herself out to join the others. They seemed subdued about one thing or another and, deciding to break the mood a bit, she spoke up.

"I'm assuming you've got a lot you want to ask of me, so why don't we do it now before we move on?"

Daisuke glanced up, "But… isn't this serious?"

"What's more serious is the fact that hostility will be what crushes us all. Besides, it won't hurt." At least… not a lot.

---

A flock of birds winged overhead of the camped group, their destination practically unknown. Further ahead, the rubble and dust over a particular hillside showed the agony and pain left behind and there was silence. Deathly silence and nothing to break it. The mists of time had covered it, and it was only there, and there alone, that was night. Constantly.

Time seemed to have stopped.

Silence.

---

As you can see, I did horribly in this chapter. And in reality, I have no idea on what I was doing with this piece. They'll probably make it to the town by the end of the next chapter. If I can figure out what happens before that… Damnit, it had such a promising beginning XD

Oh yes, and Zeike belongs to me. If you've read The Flames of Time (it's painful… my first fic but complete) or Darkened Heart (he has more character in that one) then you'll kinda know him.

Reviewer replies:

neko-nya: lol, hopefully you've stopping singing it by now XD if not… I'm worried for you. Maybe I should give one of them telepathy… hrm… Riku! Of course, she's not in the story yet… I have so got to add sarcastic ghosties sometime…

Snowy Leopardess: Thanks XD They just have this kinda hostility between them, even though they just met. But then again, Dark might have sensed something else from her… XD Akane can also be rather annoying, but it depends on the person. :) We'll just have to see what happens to them, don't we?

Hakudoshi-chan: Thank you-- :hugs:

xpeachie: Aw… I'm glad you liked it that much (personally I'm beginning to wonder XD). Geez… I'm so slow at this, aren't I? Ah well, life goes on.


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